Kentucky has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the US

CNN — A 25-year-old man in Kentucky legally purchased an AR-15-style rifle at a local gun dealership. Gun enthusiasts have described it as “one of the most gun-friendly states east of the Mississippi.” By contrast, gun violence prevention groups like Everytown have billed the state’s laws as “among the worst in the country.” Kentucky is home to some of the highest firearm death rates in the country, the latest statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. “Universal background checks are nonexistent, so you can buy a gun from a stranger and there’s no record of the sale, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to trace these weapons if they’re ever used in a crime,” CNN contributor Jennifer Mascia, founding staffer at The Trace, a nonprofit outlet focused exclusively on gun violence, said. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, there’s no waiting period between the purchase of a firearm and its physical transfer to the buyer in Kentucky, whereas some states require a waiting period ranging anywhere from 72 hours to 14 days before the weapon is handed over. “The laws we have now are enabling violence and murder,” the mayor said, and slammed a state law that requires law enforcement to put seized firearms up for auction to federally licensed firearms dealers holding a license appropriate for the type of firearm sold.