[syslog-ng] running as non-root doesn't get kernel log

I'm trying to run syslog-ng 2.0.0 as a user that's not root via the -u option. The problem is that it doesn't get the kernel log. Tracking with strace shows that it doesn't open the kernel destination file. I made sure that events were being generated. Running as root strace shows the kernel destination being opened, and the events are recorded in the file. Any ideas?