1. How old was Charlie Kirk?
2. What was Kirk known for? - what was his goal for his organization?
3. a) What did Erika Kirk say about her husband's murderer?
b) Are you surprised by her declaration? Explain your answer.
4. What did Secretary of State Marco Rubio say about Kirk?
5. There was worldwide reaction following Charlie Kirk's shocking assassination:
- The Polish Parliament stopped, stood up, held a moment of silence and prayed for Charlie Kirk
- The Romanian Parliament held a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk
- During the Unite the Kingdom rally for free speech in London, attended by close to one million, organizers played a tribute video to Kirk
- The U.S. House of Representatives observed a moment of silence after hearing the news that Charlie Kirk was shot, (although Democrats then refused to allow a spoken prayer for Kirk).
- The U.S. Senate declared October 14 (Charlie's birthday) as the "National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk. (This was also passed by the House)
- The Chicago Cubs honored Charlie Kirk before their game on September 12.
- The New York Yankees held a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on September 11.
- The majority of NFL teams honored Charlie Kirk before their games.
- President Trump ordered flags to fly at half staff in honor of Charlie Kirk. Some school districts and cities across the country refused to heed the president's order. (In one case, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered city departments to ignore the president's order, but it was reported several fire houses flew their flags at half staff in support of the president's order.)
- Prayer vigils were held for Charlie Kirk in many towns and cities across the country.
Why do you think people reacted so strongly to Charlie Kirk's assassination?
OPTIONAL:
- While thousands, shocked by the targeted assassination of a private citizen who was exercising his free speech rights to debate issues in a peaceful manner, took to social media to express their sadness and dismay, many others celebrated Kirk's death. And further shocking is the fact that teachers, nurses, a doctor, a retired judge, and several elected Democrat officials...believed it was a good idea to publicly state support for his murder, some saying he spread hate, or that he was a “fascist.”
- Many in the media used negative descriptions of Kirk: divisive, controversial, "pushes hate speech aimed at certain groups"
- Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, when opposing a Republican resolution honoring the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, falsely asserted in a post on X that Kirk’s "rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans – far from 'working tirelessly to promote unity' as asserted by the [Republican] majority in this resolution."
She added that “We can condemn his horrific assassination and the scourge of political violence without uplifting these ideas.”
- Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is the candidate for governor in New Jersey in November's race said the Constitution "is meant to protect people like Charlie Kirk who present vile dissenting views" and falsely said that Kirk "was advocating...to roll back the rights of women and Black people."
- Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said of Kirk: "I do believe he was a reprehensible, hateful man." And falsely said, "He didn‘t believe that we should have equal access to anything. He also just didn't even believe I could be smart enough, I could have thoughts that could be equal to a White man."
Many conservatives point out that continuously using negative and false rhetoric to describe Charlie Kirk's opinions on the issues of the day leads to violence.
Take some time to watch several full/unedited videos of Charlie Kirk's interactions with college students. Why do you think those who dislike him apparently did not take the time to watch any of his debates before labeling him as hateful etc.?