Thailand has had a gun ownership law since 1947.
The Act Concerning Firearms, Ammunition, and Explosives allows people to obtain gun licenses for the purposes of self-defense, protection of property, sports or hunting.
The law was amended in 2017 to limit gun ownership to Thai citizens only.
According to the Swiss-based research group Small Arms Project, Thailand does not rank in the top 25 countries in terms of legal firearms owned per capita.
But Thailand has a thriving grey and black firearms market.
In terms of civilian-held legal and illicit guns owned, Thailand ranks 13th in the world ahead of countries like Egypt, the Philippines, and Iran.
Firearms-related deaths
In terms of firearms deaths, Thailand also ranks poorly compared with regional and international neighbours.
In 2016, the country placed higher than the United States and Pakistan in terms of firearms-related deaths per 100,000 people.
In terms of total deaths from gun violence, statistics compiled by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation ranks Thailand at 11th, with 3,830 deaths.
This is far behind the top three countries Brazil, United States and India with over 43,000, 37,000, and 26,000, respectively.
(Reporting by Erich Parpart and Diane Louys)