Southeast Asian Teen Killers Raise Serious Doubts About Gun Control

Because of the Second Amendment, the gun control crowd will likely never get what many other nations already have regarding regulation. Even some relatively pro-gun countries are far more anti-gun than even a state like California or New York, at least by looking at their laws. It’s not that these American states don’t want that, too. It’s that they can’t, and they know it.

In Southeast Asia, there have been a couple of high-profile mass killings committed by teens. I’ve covered them, and they’re horrific. Both Thailand and the Philippines have strict gun control laws.

Now, though, people are questioning if it’s enough.

The attacks raise questions not only about Thailand and the Philippines’ unusually large civilian gun stockpile, but also about how legally owned firearms are stored, transferred and allowed to fall into other people’s hands across Southeast Asia.

Thailand tops list of gun ownership

The Small Arms Survey estimated in 2017 that Thai civilians possessed around 10.3 million firearms, equivalent to roughly 15 guns for every 100 people, by far the highest rate in Southeast Asia. Just over 6 million were registered, leaving more than 4 million unregistered.

The Philippines rivals Thailand, with several million firearms believed to be in civilian hands and a comparatively high rate of firearm killings, although fewer per capita than in Thailand. Malaysia has fewer than one civilian gun for every 100 people, while Indonesia’s rate is lower still.

Thailand’s estimated firearm death rate of 3.49 per 100,000 people is one of the highest in Asia, according to the World Population Review.

The Philippines rivals Thailand, with several million firearms believed to be in civilian hands and a comparatively high rate of firearm killings, although fewer per capita than in Thailand. Malaysia has fewer than one civilian gun for every 100 people, while Indonesia’s rate is lower still.

Thailand’s estimated firearm death rate of 3.49 per 100,000 people is one of the highest in Asia, according to the World Population Review.

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At first glance, Thailand’s laws appear restrictive. Separate authorization is required to purchase, possess and carry a firearm, and there are several layers of registration for legal firearms.

Yet possession licences remain valid for life, applicants are not subjected to mental-health screenings, and licence holders are not periodically reassessed.

The thing is, these rules are restrictive. The fact that you have to jump through hoops at all for what is a civil liberty is an affront to any decent civil libertarian. The fact that the licenses are lifetime and you don’t have to get a shrink to give you the OK is the minimum that should be accepted in a place like Thailand, not signs that the law wasn’t enough.

What we need to remember is that neither of these recent killers was in a position to own a gun in the first place. The laws that surround the ownership of firearms in these countries didn’t fail except in preventing someone from getting a gun who shouldn’t have had one. It didn’t allow some known killer to get one through lawful means, only to kill again.

The Thailand killer, for example, murdered his grandparents and took his grandfather’s gun.

That’s reminiscent of the Sandy Hook killer, who killed his mother and took her gun as the start of his rampage.

The problem is not a lack of gun laws. It’s a lack of respect for human life and few having the ability to defend themselves. It’s just that simple.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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