With the U.S. Senate defeat of the Obama administration’s gun control measures Wednesday, buying a gun in much of America will still be as simple as forking over the cash: No background check required. In fact, one can argue it’s much more of a hassle to buy a package of cold medication than it is to purchase a deadly weapon. In the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December that killed 26, including 20 children, several recent surveys suggest most Americans favor tighter gun control. Some 92% of people support background checks for all gun buyers and 91% of households with a gun support such a measure, according to one such survey released last week by the independent Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. Despite those figures, President Barack Obama failed in his latest attempt to push for tougher gun laws — which already vary dramatically from state to state. In Texas, there is no waiting period and no state registration of firearms. Federal law requires that all licensed dealers conduct background checks, but the restriction doesn’t apply to private sales and some gun shows. To illustrate the uphill battle such efforts face, here are 5 things arguably harder to buy than buy a gun. — By Quentin Fottrell

Cold medicine

Having the common cold is enough to get one treated like a common criminal. To purchase seemingly innocuous cold medications such as Sudafed, consumers must now show ID and have the purchase logged in a database. It’s all because the active ingredient, pseudoephedrine, is the same substance used by chemists to cook up the illegal drug methamphetamine — or crystal meth. Zyrtec-D and Mucinex-D also contain pseudoephedrine. The 2005 Combat Methamphetamine Act limits the amount that can be sold per person and prohibits the purchase of more than nine grams in a 30-day period.

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Booze

An 18-year-old can’t legally buy a beer or liquor in the U.S., but the same teen can buy a gun in most states if he or she is a resident. The Gun Control Act of 1968, enacted in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, prohibits “licensed gun dealers” from selling handguns and ammunition to people under 21, but there is something of a loophole in this law. An 18-year-old can legally purchase a handgun from a private citizen under federal law and a shotgun and rifle from a licensed dealer, says Mike Campbell, a spokesman at The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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Wireless contract

A credit check is usually necessary when buying a cell phone with a two-year contract — something that’s not required to buy a gun. If you want to buy a wireless contract without one, however, many carriers ask consumers to hand over an extra $500 as a security deposit. The reason: companies like AT&T and Verizon sell iPhones for roughly one-third of the original market price and make back that money over the course of a two-year wireless contract. A gun, on the other hand, is a one-off transaction (ammunition aside).

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Puppies

Adopting a pet is not to be taken lightly. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals advises people to be prepared. Prospective adopters must be 21, bring two forms of identification — a government-issued ID and a proof of address — but, unlike gun buyers, may be asked to provide personal references. To make sure that the pet is not going to a dysfunctional home, some pet organizations like the Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington, Fla., also have one of their team members perform a home visit before handing over the pet.

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Hunting or fishing license

Federal law requires U.S. citizens to provide their Social Security numbers before buying recreational hunting or fishing licenses. (The same, incidentally, is required for getting a credit card.) As part of federal welfare reform, states can deny hunting and fishing licenses to those who have failed to keep up on their child support — and having their Social Security number is one way to find a deadbeat mom or dad. Licensed gun dealers must ask for a government-issued identification like a driver’s license, but a Social Security number is not needed to buy a gun.