KRIS VAN CLEAVE: In Virginia, where the Virginia Tech shootings killed 32 people, there is no waiting period to purchase a firearm including handguns and so-called assault rifles similar to those used in Orlando and San Bernardino. A CBS news producer went to a gun store in Alexandria, just outside of Washington, D.C. Per Virginia law, she provided a driver's license and voter I.D. card to prove residency as well as her passport to show U.S. citizenship. She filled out these federal and state forms requiring her name, date of birth, social security number, and a few basic questions about past criminal activity or current restraining orders. She also passed a brief electronic background check.
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38 minutes and $1,030 for her to walk out of the store legally armed with this rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition and a 30-round magazine. Adam Winkler researches gun laws at U.C.L.A.
ADAM WINKLER: Well, it seems so easy to get firearms because it is easy to get firearms. We have a right to bear arms in this country and that means you have a right not only to have a gun, but a right to go purchase one if you want to have one, too.
VAN CLEAVE: Virginia is one of 41 states with no waiting period beyond the background check. Four states and Washington, D.C. impose a waiting period on all firearms. Minnesota requires a week-long wait for handguns and assault weapons. Four other states, including Florida, have a waiting period for handguns.
WINKLER: Our patchwork quilt of gun laws is destined to be ineffective.
VAN CLEAVE: Larry Pratt from Gun Owners of America wants fewer laws restricting gun ownership.
LARRY PRATT: We need to make it so the good guys are able to act immediately when a bad guy strikes. To have to call the police and wait five minute, 10 minutes, is to wait to die.
VAN CLEAVE: The gun we legally purchased was transferred to a federally licensed firearm dealer and weapons instructor, according to Virginia law. Scott, the gun was only in our possession for a couple of hours.
