In another of his famous promises, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced that the country will be gun-free within five to six years. This follows similar pledges to do away with drugs and mafia types, but this time the PM may have gone too far, incensing everyone from farmers to single women to gun collectors and sportsmen.
Acknowledging that people's rights would be affected, Mr Thaksin promised public hearings and careful consideration before any ban on owning firearms. He also announced an immediate ban on the purchase of new rifles, pistols and shotguns without permission until December 31, while the government considers the issue.
'If there are public hearings and people agree, the change is likely,' he said. 'I want to know how many people use guns in self-defence. Most of them just have guns to feel secure. There is no reason to possess firearms if there is effective crime control.'
Based on official gun ownership figures, more than three million Thais 'feel secure', but authorities admit the country has been flooded with illegal guns, and the true figure could be anything up to 10 million in circulation.
Few would dispute that the country is in the grip of a rampant gun culture - a simple scan of any given day's newspaper headlines tells the story of a nation with an itchy trigger finger, where drunken disputes often end in someone being blown away and where it is relatively simple for the criminally minded to procure weapons powerful enough to stop a charging elephant.
The most recent police figures on murder methods - from 1999 - show that firearms were used in almost half of all homicides in Thailand. More up-to-date statistics are now being urgently assembled as the debate heats up.