Open-Carry Gun Advocates Gather With Their Weapons at Kent State

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Open-Carry Gun Advocates Gather With Their Weapons at Kent State

Ideastream Public Media | By Andrew Atkins

Published April 28, 2018 at 8:54 AM EDT

About 70 demonstrators gathered in鈥檚 Risman Plaza Friday carrying handguns and rifles or wearing holsters.

While visitors can bring guns on campus, students and staff cannot.

The event was organized by senior biology major Kaitlin Bennett and Cincinnati-area accountant Jeffry Smith, who has held similar open-carry demonstrations at the University of Akron and other sites around the state.

Bennet says they were there to spark conversation.

"It鈥檚 a hot topic right now," she says. "There鈥檚 students marching in the streets, high school students, college students are marching out of their classes. It鈥檚 a conversation that needs to happen, it needs to happen right now."

Kent State sent a message to students Thursday explaining university policy and that the university allows peaceful dialogue from all viewpoints.

Smith's other events included an

Jeffry Smith, second from the left, helped organize the event.

Kaitlin Bennett teamed up with Jeffry Smith for the event.

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Andrew Atkins

Andrew is a senior journalism major and a columnist for the Kent Stater. Alongside being a resident assistant in the honors community, he has worked as the web editor for the Burr Magazine and the campus editor for the Kent Stater. He looks forward to the professional learning opportunities afforded to him through his internship at WKSU.

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Open-Carry Gun Advocates Gather With Their Weapons at Kent State