Virginia has lax gun laws, at least by Australian standards. According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Virginia does not require licensing of gun owners or registration of weapons. You can walk into a shop and just buy a gun. There is no cooling-off period to prevent crimes of passion.

But it does have a "one handgun a month" law and police keep records of gun sales at licensed dealers for a year. There are no restrictions or tests on guns sold at gun shows, swap-meets or privately. The one-a-month limit does not apply to rifles or shotguns.