Thailand Orders Gun Law Overhaul After School Shooting

BANGKOK, Aug 11 (TNA) - Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered a major overhaul of the country's gun control laws, halting the renewal of firearm carry permits and mandating stricter penalties following two separate fatal shootings in recent days.

The directives follow two high-profile gun violence incidents in Nonthaburi province, just northwest of Bangkok. On Aug. 10, former Member of Parliament Chalong Riewraeng shot and killed Pol. Col. Thongchai Yenprasert, President of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organization, at his office following an alleged financial dispute. Just days earlier, on Aug. 7, a 14-year-old student opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, killing teachers and students. The back-to-back tragedies sparked urgent demands for firearm regulations and institutional safety reforms.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Anutin said Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt has been instructed to expedite the drafting of a new Gun Control Act. Under the new directive, the Ministry of Interior and the Royal Thai Police must immediately stop renewing licenses to carry handguns in public.

The government will also establish an amnesty period allowing individuals to surrender unregistered or non-transferable firearms to authorities without penalty, after which law enforcement will enforce severe criminal sanctions. Local administrative officers and police will deploy checkpoints across the country to search for illegal weapons and narcotics.

Alongside firearm measures, the government announced comprehensive safety framework measures for educational institutions nationwide.

Yodchanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said the Ministry of Education is proposing six urgent safety measures to the cabinet. The framework requires all schools to establish a Rights Protection and Safety Center, integrating efforts across multiple government agencies to protect students and staff.

In the longer term, officials plan to introduce a framework law on school safety, including a draft bill addressing safety standards and the use of electronic devices on campus.

Debsirin Nonthaburi School is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Aug. 17, following a one-week closure. Teams of psychologists and mental health crisis specialists from the Department of Mental Health will be deployed to provide ongoing counseling to traumatized students and teachers as classes resume. -819 (TNA)