A gun show in Italy. Photo: Emanuele Cremaschi / Getty
The U.S. is one of the easiest places to buy a gun, only requiring 2 steps: passing a background check to ensure no criminal activity and buying the gun. It can take less than an hour, the New York Times reports. (Although some states have extra restrictions or steps.)
Why it matters: Other countries, like Russia and China, have a much longer process before buying a gun, which can take months. Because of the Second Amendment, U.S. lawmakers have been slow to add obstacles to the legal gun purchasing process, despite several recent mass shootings with legally purchased guns.
Here's how many steps it takes to buy a gun in 14 other countries, according to the Times.
- Yemen, 2 steps
- China, 5 steps
- Britain, 5 steps
- Israel, 6 steps
- India, 6 steps
- Canada, 6 steps
- Mexico, 6 steps
- Russia, 7 steps
- Australia, 7 steps
- Germany, 7 steps
- Brazil, 8 steps
- Austria, 8 steps
- South Africa, 9 steps
- Japan, 13 steps