With scores of college graduations occurring this month, one woman decided to make her views known on the issue of gun control. She casually carried her AR-10 rifle on campus. Kaitlin Bennett graduated from Kent State University in Ohio. Students and faculty are barred from carrying deadly weapons, though guests are permitted to open carry if they wish. They just can’t enter any of the school’s buildings. She was taking a stand for her rights, for the Second Amendment, and to protest the university’s stance on carry rights. And yes, she took a lot of heat for the photo. Death threats and graphic language were hurled her way, but Bennett calmly noted that these clowns were only reinforcing her view about Second Amendment rights. Yes, it’s meant to protect us from a foreign invading force and more applicably from a usurpatory government, but its immediate use is most definitely centered on home and personal defense (via Kansas City Star):
Discussing why I took graduation photos with an AR-10 rifle at Kent State and why I support #CampusCarryNow with @foxandfriends this morning. pic.twitter.com/o2RATs3gtK
— Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 17, 2018
Now that I graduated from @KentState, I can finally arm myself on campus. I should have been able to do so as a student- especially since 4 unarmed students were shot and killed by the government on this campus. #CampusCarryNow pic.twitter.com/a91fQH44cq
— Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 13, 2018
I have no apologies for my graduation photos. As a woman, I refuse to be a victim & the second amendment ensures that I don't have to be. pic.twitter.com/5CKmQobrMb
— Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 15, 2018
Kaitlin Bennett didn't like the rules that kept her from carrying a gun on campus.
So the day after she received her bachelor's degree in biology from Kent State University on Saturday - no longer bound by those rules - she put on a summery white dress, flung an AR-10 rifle over her back and posed for photos around campus.
She accessorized with her mortar board, decorated with a picture of a rifle and the words, "Come and Take It."
She shared the photo with the world on Twitter, where it has fired up heated debate about guns on campus and been retweeted nearly 2,000 times.
"It's a bad ass photo," she told NBC4 in Columbus.
[…]
Kent State prohibits the possession, storage or use of a "deadly weapon" - which includes firearms - by students, faculty and staff, according to its policy on the Kent State website. But visitors may openly carry a gun on campus since it's considered public state property.
Thanks to all who have sent me death threats for taking a picture. You're the biggest advocates for gun rights. You proved exactly why people carry.
— Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 16, 2018
Her body, her choice. https://t.co/nQy9G5kOzp
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 16, 2018
Now, she has made some controversial remarks, specifically how the infamous 1970 Kent State shootings wouldn’t have occurred if the students had been armed when confronted by National Guard units; the students at the time were protesting the Vietnam War, as we had invaded Cambodia. Many saw this as an expansion of the conflict.
Whatever the case, Bennett’s views are well known on this matter.
“Come and take it” seems to be her motto at graduation--and she has no regrets of apologies for her gun rights advocacy. It’s just a friendly reminder that not everyone who graduates this year is a hard-core lefty.
Trump appreciation post ????#MAGA pic.twitter.com/wVkiCFnlNN
— Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) February 9, 2018
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