I owned a Ruger Mini-14 when in college. Briefly. I paid a friend $300 for a gently used stainless steel model with a walnut stock and flash suppressor. The gun was heaven. And that was the problem. I couldn’t shoot just one bullet at a time. It begged to be fired frequently and fast. I couldn’t help emptying the [paltry] five-round magazine in as many seconds. It was an addiction I couldn’t afford on a student’s salary. The least expensive ammo I could find at the time was $0.40 a round and I quickly spent as much to feed the beast as the rifle cost to begin with. Less than three months later I sold the gun for $280. Now I want it back.
Timeless: Century-Old Arguments Against Gun Control Laws are Just as Valid Today
H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) was the most influential newspaperman of his era and a prolific author of iconoclastic books and essays. This is reprinted from The Evening Sun of Baltimore, November 30, 1925. Copyright 1925 by The Evening Sun. Republication without credit not permitted. I The eminent Nation announces with relish “the organization of a … Read more
