Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered on Wednesday during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
We pray for him and his family.
Kirk, 31, made a name for himself going across the country speaking and debating with young people.
Kirk founded and served as the executive director of Turning Point USA, the most successful conservative outreach organization in the nation reaching young people in high school and college.
With a sharp wit and the courage to discuss politics with anyone in front of large crowds, Kirk no doubt inspired many young conservatives to stand up for what they believe in.
May his death not be in vain.
May many more young conservatives stand up and continue his efforts in pursuit of a freer, safer and more prosperous America.
Agree with him or not, what he was doing was the most American thing possible, talking to people he disagreed with.
In a nation like ours, with frequent elections at the local, state and national level, political debate and disagreement is a necessity.
The free exchange of ideas is critical to ensuring that, over time, the best ideas may prevail.
The precise motives of the shooter are not yet known, but the result is a chilling attack on the free exchange of ideas.
This scourge of political violence must end. This year alone, we have seen Democratic representatives shot in Minnesota, Israeli embassy employees shot in Washington, D.C., and peaceful protestors attacked in Colorado.
In America, this must not stand. To disagree is one thing, but violence and appeals to violence must always be rejected.
We must all model better behavior, even if doing so won’t stop every deranged monster who lashes out.
This includes Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently said of his political opponents, “We’re going to punch these sons of b***** in the mouth.”
There’s also Long Beach Rep. Robert Garcia, who said, “And what I think is really important, and what the American public wants, is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy.”
This sort of rhetoric only adds to the hysterical nature of contemporary politics, giving respectability to uncivilized behavior.
For now, we remember the memory of Charlie Kirk and leave you with a quote of his: “Once we’re ignored or dismissed long enough, conservatives seem to just shrug our collective shoulders and accept defeat. It’s this type of passivity that has allowed progressives to dominate film and television, universities and large swaths of the mainstream news media.”