Another setback for PR holders

Thailand is one of the most difficult and expensive countries in the world to obtain permanent residence. The application process can take up to six years and costs nearly Bt200,000 in government fees. Apart from the unquestionable benefit of being permitted to stay in Thailand indefinitely, privileges afforded to permanent residents are minimal, compared to most other countries. Permanent residents have no right to work without a work permit, may not own their own businesses and are not eligible for the Universal Healthcare Scheme. Now another privilege is being withdrawn through the new Firearms, Fireworks and Explosives Act: the right to register a gun.
Since the existing Firearms Act excludes those without a permanent address from registering a firearm, only foreigners with permanent residence have been eligible because they are deemed by the Interior Ministry to have a permanent address in the Kingdom, whereas foreigners on other types of visa are logically considered temporary residents. As far as I am aware, there have been no incidents of foreign permanent residents using their registered weapons for criminal purposes in recent years to justify the ban. This group of gun owners, all of whom the police and the Interior Ministry have spent years rigorously investigating during the permanent residence application process, is probably, in fact, the most responsible and lowest risk group in Thailand. 
A serious effort by the government to haul in some of several million unregistered firearms circulating in the country would contribute far more to national security than banning firearm registration by foreign permanent residents.
George Morgan