Gun control will be discussed at a meeting of the House Committee on Police Affairs, to develop practical measures to curb gun-related violence, said Chitpas Kridakorn, vice chairman of the committee and deputy secretary-general of the Democrat Party today (Saturday).
More difficult access to legal firearms and gun ownership license renewal every 2-3 years are just two of the proposals that she said would be made at the meeting.
Chitpas visited Na Klang district police station today, to follow up on the situation in the aftermath of the mass murder at a child care centre in Na Klang district on Thursday and to offer moral support to the police there.
Chitpas told the media that the tragic incident will be discussed by the committee in an effort to find both short and long-term measures for the control of gun ownership and gun-related violence.
She admitted that the study by Geneva-based Small Arms Survey in 2017, which shows that there were about 10 million privately-owned guns, including about four million illegal guns, was quite shocking, adding that 77.5% of the serious crimes committed in Thailand , or about 36,000 cases, involved the use of unlicensed firearms.
“It is about time that all parties concerned sat down for talks to discuss the problem,” she said, adding that, in her capacity as deputy chair of the House Committee on Police Affairs, she will raise the issue at the House meeting.
Chitpas said that gun ownership, gun possession, gun control, the gun welfare program of the Interior Ministry, as well as education of the public and penalties for illegal gun possession, must be discussed in earnest.
