Kent State graduate celebrates by strolling campus with her AR-10
Source: USA Today
A woman's photos celebrating her recent graduation from Kent State University have stirred up a social media uproar thanks to the unusual accessory she chose for the occasion a high-powered, semi-automatic rifle.
Kaitlin Bennett, 22, wanted to make a statement after graduating so she shared pictures of herself on campus with an AR-10 slung over her shoulder and holding a graduation cap emblazoned with the words "come and take it."
"Now that I graduated from @KentState, I can finally arm myself on campus," Bennett, who earned a degree in biology, tweeted Sunday. "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."
Bennett was referring to the infamous 1970 incident at the university in which Ohio Nation Guardsmen opened fire on student protesters, killing four and wounding nine. She was also voicing a wide-held belief that the Second Amendment was intended as means for Americans to defend themselves against the government.
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Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/05/16/kent-state-rifle-graduation-photos/616449002/
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)wcmagumba
(2,883 posts)Freedomofspeech
(4,223 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,336 posts)Hassin Bin Sober
(26,324 posts)Freedomofspeech
(4,223 posts)Now that's funny....but not what I was focusing on!!
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)And clearly she's a poser because there's no way she's going to lug her bullshit toy to all her classes, tailgate parties, etc...
Don't give her what she wants...
BigmanPigman
(51,584 posts)She looks like she wants to get some kind of modeling or acting contract the way she is dressed and accessorized (without the weapon). She is pretty ridiculous and if I were Kent State I would take a look at her classes and suggest she take more since she is not a very bright bulb and not a great ad for their school either.
Response to BigmanPigman (Reply #17)
appalachiablue This message was self-deleted by its author.
luc mont
(70 posts)at Kent State.
BigmanPigman
(51,584 posts)riversedge
(70,184 posts)uga uga
?_nc_cat=0&oh=103ef1bdf81c164eba600e54671b0684&oe=5B86795E
7962
(11,841 posts)I get nothing.
sdfernando
(4,929 posts)bad URL data parameter
PunkinPi
(4,875 posts)Crutchez_CuiBono
(7,725 posts)That what? She'd have shot back in 1970? Sure thing sister. What a wasted space. What? The Army didn't want you? That's where you play w guns. Not where folks are striving to be intellectually better. This is gun porn for dt voters. YAWNING. Glad she's off campus and in the real world now. Im not sure but I don't think you can be a cop w a Biology Degree. maybe some remedial courses before those student loans kick in.
Another wannabe Tomi Lohren(SP) Hope i spelled it wrong.
bullwinkle428
(20,629 posts)a gun-free zone...LOL!
Crutchez_CuiBono
(7,725 posts)female NRA spokeswoman...can't remember that one's name. They can't have guns at their rallies either. Hmmm.
meadowlander
(4,394 posts)My first thought as well.
Crutchez_CuiBono
(7,725 posts)Thanks.
Calista241
(5,586 posts)Initech
(100,060 posts)And I would make sure her and people like her wouldn't get references.
Ohiogal
(31,963 posts)Soiling the campus of my alma mater.
I am sorry the media gave her any attention at all.
ladym55
(2,577 posts)If Princess Love My Gun did not get press coverage all over the place for her stupid and inappropriate behavior, there would be fewer of her ilk. Her tone deaf display, especially at KSU, is really offensive and shouldn't get her national attention.
Alethia Merritt
(147 posts)Ahpook
(2,749 posts)This goes to show how fucking stupid and irresponsible some of these gun owners really are.
This is just a show off. May have well painted it pink and had her poodle strolling along with her.
So disgusting!
Orsino
(37,428 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,989 posts)"Come and take it" Really? OK. Grab right wrist, grab shoulder strap, twist, push and take gun.
Would take about 3 seconds.
Really stupid
JI7
(89,244 posts)underpants
(182,739 posts)Oh the irony - at Kent State
7962
(11,841 posts)appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)underpants
(182,739 posts)Es muy caliénte!!!
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)underpants
(182,739 posts)Hangingon
(3,071 posts)Loaned to the people of Gonzales in 1831 to help repel hostile Indians. The Mexican government sent 100 dragoons to retrieve it 4 years later. The short battle resulted in Mexican withdrawal and was the first battle in the Texas revolution. It ultimately cost Mexico Texas..
CousinIT
(9,238 posts)...having a college degree doesn't make you any less morally ignorant. My understanding is that many of these recent celebrants of white fragility are college grads.
MythosMaster
(445 posts)this is a stunt. Don't underestimate the conservative mythos.
catchnrelease
(1,945 posts)To me it looks like she has made herself MORE vulnerable by the way she's carrying the gun. I would think an attacker could pretty easily grab it from behind and pull her down or into a car or ? Slam her to the ground using it and then what is she going to do? I don't think she could possibly get it into a position to use it against an assailant up close. Maybe I'm wrong, but in any case she's showing herself to be a fool.
(As a woman I guess out of habit I try to be aware of my surroundings and not put myself in a bad situation, and that's what popped out at me in this photo.)
7962
(11,841 posts)A bad guy would first grab the gun and have the jump on YOU
haele
(12,646 posts)Those heels don't do her any favors, either. She might be able to outrun me, but I'm old and sneaky, and her Pride and dependence on that firearm she's swinging around like a boyfriend has probably so rotted her awareness that I start out with a tactical advantage.
Haele
JohnnyRingo
(18,623 posts)and of that I'm still appreciative.
I wouldn't do that, nor would I suggest anyone else do it, but as long as she isn't breaking any laws, it's her right. She appears to employing the 2nd amendment to exercise her 1st amendment rights. Not all protected speech has a leftist view.
I donate yearly to the ACLU to protect these rights, even for idiots.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"as long as she isn't breaking any laws, it's her right..."
Is anyone arguing, or even implying otherwise? Or is that simply another irrelevant bumper-sticker we trot out to more effectively appear pertinent?
JohnnyRingo
(18,623 posts)It appears I'm the first to offer even one word of support for exercising her constitutional rights. I don't believe for a minute that she gives a shit about the four peers of my generation who died there (I had friends there on both ends of the gun barrel), but I don't see how she deserves shaming. She obviously doesn't intend to murder anyone.
People can save the tsk tsks just because the free speech doesn't conform to their own politics. I just shrugged my shoulders when I saw her pic because I know she'll be gone by Monday.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,661 posts)the right to strut around with her toy and suck up attention. And I also have the right to point out that she's a ridiculous twit who soils the memory of the students murdered at Kent State in 1970.
JohnnyRingo
(18,623 posts)This is Ohio, and she's breaking no laws or rules now that she's over 18 and no longer a class member. I can't believe I'm the first here to offer any defense at all for her exercising her right to free speech. It is fundamental for a liberal society.
I had friends on both ends of the barrel that day in Kent, and I really doubt she cares about my generational peers who were gunned down, but she thinks she has something to say, and people are apparently listening. At least if this post is any indication.
Ignore her and perhaps she'll find some new cause and move on. We should too.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,661 posts)We are, however, exercising our right to call her an idiot.
JohnnyRingo
(18,623 posts)sorry. I thought you said she didn't have the right.
Glamrock
(11,794 posts)Last edited Thu May 17, 2018, 06:08 PM - Edit history (1)
You're right. But damn it galls me that people think they need military hardware to make a point, ya know. It's being offensive for the sake of being offensive.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,489 posts)If so, I'm sure that would go over well on any college campus...
One might also wonder if she intends to open-carry at her upcoming job interviews and then at her future jobs....
jmowreader
(50,552 posts)With the gun as she has it, getting it away from her would NOT be all that hard.
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)In her hand is her black graduation cap, marked with the rifle cutout and the words COME AND TAKE IT. The historic slogan dates back to the Revolutionary War and the Texas Revolution against Mexico, she said, when Texan rebels fashioned a flag with the phrase over the image of a cannon as a sign of their defiance.
truthisfreedom
(23,142 posts)Looks like her politics arent in line with her beliefs.
Marthe48
(16,932 posts)n/t
2naSalit
(86,515 posts)ellie
(6,929 posts)rpannier
(24,329 posts)She just wants attention
Calista241
(5,586 posts)It would take her more than 10 seconds to bring that weapon to bare from that carry position. And why an AR-10? Is she expecting an up-armored vehicle that she needs to shoot through? And look at that scope. Are you expecting to shoot a mass killer from 500+ yards away.
Open carry is for the birds. It identifies you as asshole, and moves you to the top of any potential shooters target list.
Snake Plissken
(4,103 posts)with a gun, I wonder what her major malfunction is.
MountCleaners
(1,148 posts)That's the only way women can get any attention for their views.
angrychair
(8,690 posts)She will make some inbred hillbilly a proud baby mommy.
GeoWilliam750
(2,522 posts)The stupid is powerful with this one:
Bennett, who earned a degree in biology, is a gun rights activist and, according to her Twitter bio, a founder of a libertarian group called "Liberty Hangout." In addition to opposing gun control measures and advocating for a right to carry on campus, Bennett's group argues that "taxation is theft" and, "voting is violence and democracy is the oppression of those who dwell within the minority opinion."
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)It's amazing she even got into college, let alone graduated.
She's nothing more than a disgusting attention whore.
3catwoman3
(23,970 posts)...to vote.
Does she not realize that many posective employers now check the social media sites of applicants? I wonder what sort of company she will end up working for.
llmart
(15,536 posts)I'm a retired 30-year HR professional. When she starts job hunting she's in for a big surprise. She'll be one of those who will wonder why she gets so rejected at all of her job applications. Maybe Wal-Mart is hiring.
I'd say maybe she comes from money but I'm from Ohio and if you come from money you don't go to Kent State.
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)"taxation is theft" and, "voting is violence and democracy is the oppression of those who dwell within the minority opinion." - Bennett
haele
(12,646 posts)They want to rule their Small World, but still be able to have all the goodies that go along with living in the real world whenever they want.
My six-year old grand-daughter has a better grasp of reality than some of these entitled little children who think they're all grown up because helicopter Mommy and Daddy pulled strings or paid their way.
Haele
DaDeacon
(984 posts)So if you were ever confused about what white privilege this, is it. I graduate students of color is Harassed in her own dorm by campus security for taking a nap while this young lady parades around campus with a high-powered rifle for the lolz, and no one stops or questions her.
Javaman
(62,515 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Javaman
(62,515 posts)good grief.
SCantiGOP
(13,868 posts)Can I claim gender bias because I am male?
Just what the fuck is she talking about?
maxrandb
(15,318 posts)this was otherwise an excellent resume from her for a hosting gig on Faux News
Orsino
(37,428 posts)You're ageing out of your "job," and here is the woman auditioning to take it.
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)Paladin
(28,246 posts)appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)Washington Post, "The story behind the viral photo of a Kent State graduate posing with her cap- and a rifle," 5/17/18
EXCERPTS-
If Kaitlin Bennett had been allowed to carry a gun at Kent State University while a student, she wouldnt have carried an AR-10 rifle. She would have carried her handgun instead.
But the 22-year-old said she chose to pose with the rifle for her graduation photos Sunday because it made for a stronger symbol:
That, as a non-student, she could at last arm herself on the northeast Ohio campus. To Bennett, the photo was the culmination of her years as a conservative student activist, during which she advocated for students to be able to carry concealed weapons on the same campus where, almost 50 years ago, the Ohio National Guard opened fire into a crowd of unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine.
I believe that if the government has it, we should have it. Machine guns any weaponry, Bennett told The Washington Post on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after her graduation photo went viral, garnering more than 3,200 retweets and 1,000 comments on Twitter. To make sure the government cant go against the citizens, she said. We should be able to protect ourselves against a tyrannical government.
Bennett, who was raised by a Republican family in Zanesville, Ohio, knew her photo would provoke backlash. Shed found herself at the center of controversy on campus plenty of times before. Just three weeks ago, she co-organized an open-carry demonstration that invited nearby residents to bring their firearms to the university...
In her hand is her black graduation cap, marked with the rifle cutout and the words COME AND TAKE IT. The historic slogan dates back to the Revolutionary War and the Texas Revolution against Mexico, she said, when Texan rebels fashioned a flag with the phrase over the image of a cannon as a sign of their defiance.
Aliah Kimbro, a 19-year-old Kent State sophomore, told Refinery 29 that it was hard for her as a black woman to support Bennett, knowing her own gun rights arent safe anywhere. To see that tweet, Come and take it, as if lives werent taken on that campus due to gun violence, just shocked me, Kimbro told Refinery 29. Kent became an open-carry campus in the last year and there were many protests from that, the incident of May 4 not forgotten.
Since posting the photo, Bennett said she has also received death threats. "Im not nervous, because everyone knows that Im armed, she said. I dont know why they would threaten an armed person.
As president of the universitys chapter of the libertarian media outlet Liberty Hangout, shes used to being attacked, said Bennett, who was also formerly president of the Kent State chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization. She said conservative students on campus have in the past been assaulted and said that in April someone swung at one of Liberty Hangouts cameramen, breaking his equipment...More..
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-story-behind-the-viral-photo-of-a-kent-state-graduate-posing-with-her-cap-%e2%80%94-and-a-rifle/ar-AAxnWX1?li=BBnb7Kz
IronLionZion
(45,411 posts)There were some white guys strolling around DC with assault rifles the other day. DC is not an open carry state and these dipshits didn't care.
Sanity Claws
(21,846 posts)That makes it harder to digest.
Paladin
(28,246 posts)llmart
(15,536 posts)that the students who died and the students who witnessed the massacre at Kent State in the 70's would not want anything to do with this bimbo.
appalachiablue
(41,118 posts)He also emphasized the 1970 tragedy, but things didn't work out for him fortunately.
hunter
(38,309 posts)Grins
(7,205 posts)They way you are carrying it - in a second!
And what's with the fucking scope...?
haele
(12,646 posts)Like if you do something absolutely stupid - like openly interfere with a U.S. Marshall or the FBI, that your buddies are all going to stand with you when the feds with guns are pointing them at you?
Or do you think you're going to be the one to plan the magical guerrilla assault on the entire FBI or DEA, or AFT unit investigating your compound of EndTimz loonies, screaming "Wolverines!" as y'all attack, and win the temporary applause of a grateful county - until the National Guard is called in with tanks, drones, and fifty or so ground-pounders to mop up?
One - heck, even a dozen AR-10s can't make a stand against tanks, drones, and a couple units of trained troops with their support armament. It can cover a temporary retreat, but if you don't have some sort of heavy artillery of your own - including about two dozen Rambo clones who know the area like the back of their hands - and have tunneled in for cover and protection, it's pretty much over in real life once the government decides that optics doesn't matter any more, and you're fair game.
On edit - removed the demeaning slur, even though she does appear in that photo to be a gun-culture princess in the making.
Haele
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)"Well, if it all goes to shit and the government (fill in thing that won't happen here), then we'll need guns."
Because yeah, you and your arsenal are going to fight off the freaking cops/military. Sounds completely sane and well-thought out.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)and her invitation to come and take her gun probably wouldn't be too hard to do.
Initech
(100,060 posts)beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)Well armed blacks should do a peaceful walk in her neighborhood.....
appleannie1943
(1,303 posts)nearest recruiter's office when she can volunteer for duty in the Middle East. Notice the crowds of well wishers around her.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)probably get a job offer from the NRA and get to meet Ted Nugent and new NRA Prez Ollie North.
TheRealNorth
(9,475 posts)She's going to latch on to some right-wing lecher and get the Donald Trump/O'Reilly treatment. But on the bright side, she's only 1 NDA away from a big pay day.
hatrack
(59,583 posts)Can't wait to hear her whining online six months from now: "Why won't anybody HIRE me?!?!??!!"
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,276 posts)on May 4th, 1970, she'd have died in a hail of return volley and I'm betting more than 4 students would have died along with her.