It's not easy to tell in Thailand which guns are used as this surge of gun violence happens. The scale of understanding that it took for society to come to terms with what happened was unlike anything we've seen. My generation has a different relationship with guns than our parents' generation and their parents before them. Growing up, I have heard about Thai households having a gun in their homes as, you know, a safety thing for self-defense.
American-made guns are pouring into countries all over the globe, even more so after the US made it easier to export guns in 2020. Even as America’s mass shootings horrify the world and gun-crime rates rise in many of the importing countries, the US government is playing a key role as the firearm industry’s booster and concierge.
Bloomberg’s Michael Riley, David Kocieniewski and Patpicha Tanakasempipat join this episode to talk about one gunmaker, Sig Sauer. It has benefited the most from the push for more gun exports and has found a large customer base in Thailand.
Read more: How the US Drives Gun Exports and Fuels Violence Around the World
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Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates gun-safety measures, is backed by Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
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