Thailand has had very strict gun control laws for quite some time. That doesn’t necessarily stop bad things from happening, of course. We all know that it doesn’t though some people don’t want to get the memo.

I’ve also said for a while that if there’s a demand for guns, someone will provide it. That’s true in Thailand as well. In fact, a recent arrest of a man turning BB guns into live weapons is a prime example of just how creative some of these folks can be.

CHON BURI: Police on Tuesday night raided a house in Sattahip district and arrested a man on charges of illegally making guns and selling them online.

The 11pm raid on house No 88/10 at Moo 6 village in tambon Sattahip and the arrest of Yossakorn “Duke” Arthan, 31, followed a sting operation with a police officer posing as a buyer.

Police found in Mr Yossakorn’s possession and impounded as evidence one .38 revolver, one .38 semi-automatic pistol, a BB gun which had not been modified, 60 rounds of .38 ammunition, a gun barrel and tools.

During police questioning, Mr Yossakorn allegedly said he learned about making and modifying guns from Youtube. He bought BB guns for 7,000-8,000 baht each and gun barrels through a Lazada app. The BB guns and the barrels were then modified and assembled for use as firearms that could use live ammunition.

Like I said, creative.

Yossakorn would allegedly buy BB guns for about as much as 8,000 baht, or around $230, and sell them for 15,000 baht, or about $430.

Not too shabby of a profit, really.

Understand, Thailand has all that gun control. If gun control works as advertised, how could anyone turn a BB gun into a fully-functional firearm?

And I’m trying to figure out what video he watched on YouTube, especially since the site is known to be hell on anyone showing American audiences how to build guns, even though that’s perfectly legal here. So I’m curious just what he was watching and when did he watch it.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that gun-making videos are only restricted here in the US and not in a country like Thailand.

Regardless, though, this is yet another example of gun control simply not working, and you’d be fooling yourself if you honestly believe that. This guy allegedly turned BB guns into fully-functional firearms. Here, 3D printers and CNC milling machines are common enough that we don’t even need such a base to build from.

You’re never going to keep bad people from getting guns. Your best bet is to find ways to discourage people from committing violent crimes in the first place. Giving people an alternative path and incentives to go down that path may have a more beneficial impact than all the gun control laws in the world.

In the meantime, it’s clear that only law-abiding citizens are unable to obtain firearms in Thailand. It’s well past time for lawmakers there to stop hamstringing the good guys and let them defend themselves by removing the restrictions that aren’t really working anyway.