United States

Kent State Grad Unapologetic Over Campus Rifle Photos

Visitors may cary a gun on campus but students, faculty and staff may not

A Kent State University graduate is not apologizing for posting graduation photos of herself carrying a rifle on campus.

Kaitlin Bennett tweeted that she could "arm herself" now that she was a graduate. Along with the AR-10 rifle, the photo shows a mortar board with the words: "Come and take it." The school prohibits students, faculty and staff from carrying "deadly weapons."

Bennett said she should have been able to carry the weapon as a student "especially since 4 unarmed students were shot and killed by the government." That was a reference to Ohio National Guardsmen killing four students and wounding nine others at the school during a Vietnam War protest in 1970.

The university confirmed to NBC affiliate WKYC that Bennett didn't violate any rules — visitors may carry a gun on campus.

The tweets, which have been shared thousands of times, come amid a nationwide debate over guns on campus. A former student's massacre with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida prompted walkouts and marches in support of gun control across the country. That movement has been championed by many students at the school, though junior Kyle Kashuv has become a prominent advocate of gun rights since the shooting.

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Bennett told WKYC that gun control advocates in schools usually go viral, "but you don't see a lot going viral about students who are pro-second amendment and pro-gun rights"

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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