American gun nut known for brandishing a semi-automatic rifle in college is stunned when she confronts an Australian who supports basic gun control
- US pro-gun activist interviews Australian
- Kaitlin Bennett is known as the Kent State Gun Girl
- Do you know the Australian? Please contact brett.lackey@dailymail.com
A US pro-firearms activist has clashed with an Australian on the streets of New York over his support for fundamental gun control laws.
Kaitlin Bennett, 27, interviewed people for her right-wing site Liberty Hangout in the clip shared on TikTok this week, which has been viewed more than a million times.
Bennett made headlines in 2018 when she showed up a day after graduating from Kent State University in Ohio with an Armalite AR-10 semi-automatic rifle strapped to her back.
The then 22-year-old posed for photos wearing a graduation cap with the words “come and take it” written on it, which she said was a protest against the university’s policy prohibiting students and staff from carrying “lethal weapons” on campus.
In the clip, which was filmed in 2019 but went viral again, Bennett asks the Australian man, who appeared to be with a group about to attend a show in Times Square, if “You have the right to bear arms there?’ .
Kaitlin Bennett was interviewing people for her right-wing site Liberty Hangout when she spoke to the Australian in a clip that went viral again this week
Bennett made headlines in 2018 when she protested Kent State University’s gun policy by showing up with a rifle tied to her back
The 27-year-old is a vocal supporter of conservative politicians like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis
The man replies, “Yeah… but licensed so they don’t fall into the hands of idiots and you’ve got all those high school massacres.”
“So you have gun control? That’s terrible, I don’t want to live there,” Bennett tells the man.
Bennett regularly appears on social media brandishing various weapons and expressing her support for hard-right politicians such as Donald Trump and Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.
Bennett asks the man if he thought gun control was a good thing.
‘Absolute!’ the man replies.
Bennett argued, ‘Why should my right of self-defense be checked? Why do I need a permit to protect myself from a madman?’
The man replies, ‘Because it prevents guns from falling into the wrong hands. There is a strict screening process.’
Bennett then argued that she has the right to self-defense and protection of her property and asked that the government should “take charge of my self-defense.”
“Are you happy that innocent people are being killed because the evidence shows that’s what’s happening? The proof is in the pudding,’ the man replied.
Australia’s gun laws changed in 1996, spearheaded by former Prime Minister John Howard after the Port Arthur massacre, and since then, in stark contrast to the United States, the country has seen almost no mass shootings.
Kaitlin Bennett regularly posts photos of herself posing with various firearms
The man then tells Bennett he has to go to a concert and walks off with his group.
“Never become civilians, boys,” Bennett shouts.
Commentators on the clip appeared to side with the Australian man in the debate.
“Gun laws put an end to the need for so much self-defense…is she that naive?” one person said.
“He wiped the floor with her and she still thinks she’s right.” said another.
“Typical, assuming everyone wants to be American.” added a third.