BANGKOK, Thailand – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has announced plans for tougher firearms controls that would prohibit gun owners from taking firearms outside their homes, with no exceptions planned even for competitive shooting athletes. Under the proposed measures, shooting clubs and ranges would be responsible for storing firearms used by athletes. Competitors would have to use firearms kept at the range for training and would not be allowed to take them home afterward.
Authorities would also conduct detailed checks of firearms and ammunition held at individual clubs and shooting ranges. Athletes would be required to register ammunition purchases for training, with the amount purchased and used recorded and matched against range records. After training, firearms would have to remain at the shooting range. Athletes would not be permitted to take them home, including after returning from a training session. Anutin said claims that firearms were being carried because their owners had just returned from training would no longer be accepted as an exception.
The announcement comes amid heightened government efforts to tighten firearms controls following a series of shooting incidents. Anutin said stricter measures were necessary to reduce the risks associated with firearms being carried in public. Sakon Wannapong, president of the Shooting Association of Thailand, said the association would cooperate with the government’s policy and had already issued a notice to athletes and parents on August 11 reminding them about rules governing the transportation and storage of firearms.
Sakon said athletes and parents had not objected to the measures, noting that shooting ranges already provide secure storage facilities and many athletes routinely leave their firearms at ranges.
The association will adjust its own measures to align with the government policy and strengthen supervision of firearm storage and use within shooting facilities.
Sakon also noted that firearms used in competitive shooting are specialized sporting equipment governed by international competition standards. Events include air-rifle and small-bore .22-calibre disciplines, with equipment subject to rules set by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).
The Shooting Association of Thailand said it would continue working with authorities and ensure athletes comply strictly with requirements governing the storage and use of firearms at shooting ranges.
