The Cabinet approved a Firearms Bill on Tuesday, which is aimed at encouraging people in possession of illegal firearms to register them within 180 days, so they may possess them legally.
The bill also contains an amnesty for those in possession of war weapons, or weapons which cannot legally be possessed by unauthorised individuals in Thailand, if they surrender them to the authorities within 180 days.
The surrendered war weapons will become the property of the state and their former owners will not be compensated.
Those who fail to take advantage of the amnesty will be liable to one year in prison and/or a fine of 10,000 baht on conviction.
Similar bills have been introduced from time to time in the past by the Thai government, when it was discovered that many crimes were being committed with the use of illegal firearms or when there were too many illegal firearms in private hands.
