Thailand Overhauls Gun Laws With Stricter Penalties

On August 9, 2025, Watchara Phongsuwan, a Saraburi MP and chairman of the parliamentary police committee, outlined the government's approach to addressing gun violence. Recent tragedies—including a 14-year-old's shooting rampage at Thepsirin School in Nonthaburi province that killed and injured many, and an incident in which a secondary student brandished a firearm to threaten and assault classmates near Saman Sen Road—underscore how a culture of carrying weapons in public has led to devastating loss of life. Phongsuwan said his committee will coordinate with the Royal Thai Police and Interior Ministry to overhaul and comprehensively revise the Firearms Act to impose far stricter and more rigorous penalties.

The sweeping enforcement initiative will target the root of the problem by outright banning ordinary civilians and off-duty government officials from carrying firearms outside their homes. Anyone violating this ban without authorization faces serious criminal charges and severe punishment. The new law will also hold registered gun owners jointly criminally liable if their weapons are stolen or used by others to shoot people, unless they file a daily loss report before the incident occurs.

Phongsuwan stressed that all gun owners must secure their weapons with extreme care to prevent children and youth from accessing them. He dismissed proposals for teachers to carry guns in schools for self-defense, aligning with the Prime Minister's earlier rejection of the idea. Teachers are not law enforcement officers and have no direct duty to wield firearms, he noted. The correct solution is strict enforcement of new gun laws to remove weapons from public circulation, rather than introducing more firearms into schools.