BUYING a military-style assault rifle isn’t that hard in Florida — even for an Aussie-passport holder.

Just 48 hours after America’s deadliest mass shooting, licensed gun stores around the crime scene were willing to sell me a weapon — including the same AR-15 model rifle used by the Orlando nightclub killer.

All I needed was the right paperwork.

As someone who comes from a country where guns are rarely seen or sold, walking into a gun shop filled me with dread.

But to Americans, who reportedly bought 12,000 rifles within two days of Sunday’s massacre at Pulse nightclub, it’s like going to the supermarket.

And the offerings at Buffalo Bill’s Shooting Store, nestled between a laundromat and pizza shop on a busy road, are probably as abundant. Dozens of rifles, muzzle loaders and firearms line the walls of the dusty store, which looks like it hasn’t been redecorated since its 1978 grand opening.

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Shop assistant Mike looked wary when I told him I was after a gun. Perhaps I didn’t look like a gun owner. He relaxed when I said I was Australian and he asked me whether I wanted a firearm to “carry in my purse” or keep at home. The gun aficionado talked me through options before recommending a rifle.

“Humph, girls and guns,” snickered an elderly man in a cowboy hat who watched the exchange.

Mike told me guns have been flying off the shelves since the shooting.

In Florida, US citizens with a state driver’s license can buy a handgun from federally licensed dealers after a three-day waiting period and following a background check (there’s no wait for rifles).

The wait is a bit longer for foreigners, like me, who don’t have a Florida driver’s license. This process could take about a month after completing an exam, short course and behind-the-wheel driving test, according to the DMV website.

A worker at southern Oaks Gun & Pawn, about a 10-minute drive south from Pulse nightclub, said he would sell me a weapon once I got my license and passed a background check.

Buying certain weapons online from retail giant Walmart seems less complicated. You can pick up orders from a store once your payment is processed.

Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen bought his weapons legally at the St Lucie Shooting Centre.

The powerful National Rifle Association argues that mass shootings are not the result of easy access to guns — but “political correctness”.