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
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen fired on anti-war protesters, killing 4 Kent State students and wounding 9 others. Several of the Guardsmen were indicted, but none were ever convicted, and it remains unclear whether they were ordered to fire. These killings of unarmed student protesters provoked mass demonstrations across the U.S. that shut down hundreds of college campuses. The photograph below of Jeffrey Miller, one of the slain students, won a Pulitzer Prize.
In her diatribe above, Kaitlin Marie Bennett, a recent Kent State grad, seems to be saying the students should have been armed and shot back at “the government,” i.e. the National Guardsmen. Hating our own government is a common theme among rightwingers, especially gun advocates, today. Combining their anti-government ideology with gun advocacy, they seem to some to be painting targets on all public employees.
Read story here.
Mary Ann Vecchio screams as she kneels over the body of fellow student Jeffrey Miller during an anti-war demonstration at Kent State University, Ohio, May 4, 1970. Four students were killed when Ohio National Guard troops fired at some 600 anti-war demonstrators. A cropped version of this image won the Pulitzer Prize.