This is how easy it is to buy an assault weapon in the United States

Chief Brandon del Pozo.
(Image credit: YouTube/Seven Days VT)

It is easier to buy a gun in some parts of the United States than it is to buy a beer — in fact, President Obama once suggested it's even easier than buying a vegetable. But one reporter for Seven Days in Vermont put that to the test when he purchased an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle just 39 hours after a similar weapon was used to massacre 49 people in Orlando.

Vermont is "home to the nation's most permissive gun laws," reporter Paul Heintz explained, saying all he had to do was Google "AR-15 Vermont," get in touch with a seller, and a few emails later they had arranged to exchange the weapon in a parking lot — no ID, background check, license, or wait required:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.