A photo taken by a recent Kent State University graduate has gone viral after the graduate, Kaitlin Bennett, posed with an AR-10 on campus and the words “Come And Take It” written on her graduation cap.
Bennett, 22, took the photo in front of the the Kent Student Center to make a statement about school policies that she believes are unfair. According to school policy, guests are allowed to open carry on campus, but students, faculty and staff are not allowed to carry “deadly weapons.”
She wanted to be able to carry on campus to “express her Second Amendment rights,” Bennett told Fox News.
When asked if she would do it again, Bennett replied: “I would do it again, and I wish that I could do it with a fully automatic machine gun. I think that those should be legal. And if I could, I would absolutely do it again.”
“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,” she wrote on Twitter when she posted the photo.
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
Bennett referenced the 1970 shooting on campus, when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on student protesters, killing four.
Bennett recently graduated with a biology degree from Kent State University.
“After graduation, she joined the ranks of our proud graduates,” Kent State University spokesman Eric Mansfield told Fox News. “So at the time of this photo, she and other graduates would be permitted to open carry on our campus.”
On Tuesday, Bennett tweeted another photo of herself with her AR-10 on campus.
“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,” she wrote.
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
“I’m glad that my photos are making headlines, because my intent was to start a discussion about gun rights on college campuses,” Bennett told USA TODAY. “At Kent State in particular, guests may protect themselves with firearms, but students cannot, and I find that insulting.”
Bennett said despite receiving death threats and criticism for the photos, she has no regrets.
“I would do it again, and I wish that I could do it with a fully automatic machine gun. I think that those should be legal. And if I could, I would absolutely do it again,” Bennett told Fox.
Bennett said she intends to continue her political activism on campus.
