Campus carry laws have been under strict consideration in the past several years, as on-campus shootings at schools and universities continue to rise. More shooters are likely enticed to violence by the wave of fame that the media has been giving to those individuals who choose to wreak havoc in the lives of others. Unfortunately, this fact doesn’t seem to stop the media from making outrageous claims and for covering the life of the shooters in great depth and length.
It’s a sad fact of life that people are willing to take their own lives and the lives of others simply to gain a few moments of the nation’s interest via the notoriety provided by the liberal news outlets.
Here’s how one girl, who happened to attend Kent State, is helping expand the conversation around campus carry laws.
What is the “Campus Carry” Law?
In 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law S.B.11, which allowed individuals with a license to bring a concealed handgun on university campuses throughout the state. While each individual campus has the ability to make some modifications, this sweeping legislation was widely celebrated as providing a higher level of safety to students and teachers and also permitted handguns to be stored within campus dormitories, homes or apartments.
There was a significant amount of backlash against this law, but what it didn’t cover was the reality of the situation. Less than 1% of the students actually had a concealed carry permit and were of the age to even obtain one. This is only one of the battleground states for this type of conversation, but it helped keep a spark going from the conversation that truly began in 2007 with the Virginia Tech shooting, where 32 teachers and students were brutally murdered. Since that time, over a dozen states have enacted laws that enable schools to make the choice about whether to allow teachers or students to carry a concealed weapon on campus. One of the most vocal and recent advocates for campus carry is Kent State’s “Gun Girl”, Kaitlin Bennett.
Campus Carry Advocates
Kaitlin Bennett is perhaps one of the most outspoken of the recent advocates for a widespread campus carry law that allows students the right to protect themselves. She recently gained a massive following online due to her stroll through the campus directly after graduation with an AR long rifle.
You see, when Kaitlin was a student at Kent State, she was not legally allowed to carry the weapon. That all changed as soon as she completed her graduation ceremony. At that time, she was simply a visitor to the campus — and visitors are allowed to carry weapons. A photo of her walking the campus with her graduation cap emblazoned with the words “Come and take it” quickly went viral as she flaunted her new ability to walk her alma mater with an assault rifle.
Since her photos went viral, Bennett has been loud voice on social media for Second Amendment rights:
The left: There's rape culture on college campuses.
Also the left: Women don't need firearms to protect themselves from rapists.
College women should be able to 3D print guns in their dorm rooms to thwart of predators. You're not a feminist if you disagree.
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) August 16, 2018
Kent State’s Gun Girl didn’t stop there. She continues to be vocal about Second Amendment rights, most recently challenging one of the survivors to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting to an arm wrestling match — whoever wins gets to choose the future of the Second Amendment. While the challenge obviously isn’t binding, it might be a lot of fun to witness as the healthy Kaitlin has taken to calling her opponent “twig arms”. Obviously, Kaitlin does not expect to have to give up her guns after the match — but it’s been a great way to continue the conversation around currently-restrictive campus carry laws.
What is often lost in all the hoopla is the fact that campus carry laws do have some challenges. One particular point of concern is what happens when you have an event in a large stadium, where there are thousands of individuals gathered with sometimes-sketchy security checks? Acts such as Kaitlin’s may not add to the comfort level of individuals who are not thrilled with the idea of guns on campus, but they are keeping the conversation flowing.
~ Firearm Daily
