'Come And Take It': Kent State Grad Poses With AR-15 On Campus

KENT, OH — A Kent State University grad isn't apologizing after she posted photos of herself posing on campus with an AR-15 slung over her shoulder. Kaitlin Bennett, 22, of Zanesville, graduated from the university on Saturday with a bachelor's degree in biology, the Kansas City Star reported.

But Bennett she doesn't agree with rules banning students from carrying guns on campus.

So the day after she got her degree, she posted a photo on Twitter of herself on campus. In it, Bennett, donning a white dress, sports an assault-style weapon on her back and holds a mortar board emblazoned with a picture of a rifle and the words, "Come and Take It."

The caption: "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."

The tweet has received more than 1,500 comments and more than 12,000 likes.

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, who founded the campus chapter of the right-wing group Liberty Hangout, called the photo "bad ass," WKCY-TV reported.

Since posting the photo, Bennett says she has received death threats — something she says encapsulates exactly why she should be allowed to carry her gun on campus in the first place.

And not only did Bennett refuse to apologize, she doubled down in a tweet Tuesday, saying she refuses to be a victim.

"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," her tweet said, accompanied by a photo of her smiling in front of a giant Kent State University sign.

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

Also, she carries. So she's not afraid.

"I carry [a gun]. So I'm not nervous," Bennett told the tv station.

The university bans students, staff and anyone doing business with the school from having a gun inside buildings and outside campus grounds. Visitors can openly carry a gun on outside campus grounds though because it is considered public property.

University spokesman Eric Mansfield told WJW-TV Bennett isn't a student anymore, so the student policy doesn't apply to her anymore. She also alerted the university of her plans beforehand.

"Kent State University was recently ranked the safest big college campus in Ohio and 25th safest in the country, according to the National Council for Home Safety and Security," the statement said. "The university has a full-time, certified police force of more than 30 sworn officers who protect the campus. These officers are visible, well-trained and on duty 24/7 in support of students, staff and faculty."

Kent State University is, famously, the site of a 1970 shooting where members of the state's National Guard shot a group of Vietnam War protesters. Four students were killed.

The incident, immortalized in the 1970 protest song "Ohio," by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Photos credit: Liberty Hangout, used with permission.