A day of remembrance for assassinated conservative Christian figure Charlie Kirk is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, which would have been the political activist’s 32nd birthday.
Although the date has not been made an official national holiday, the Oct. 14 observance comes as both chambers of Congress passed resolutions honoring Kirk last month.
The House of Representatives passed its resolution in a 310 to 58 vote on Sept. 19, with dozens of House Democrats voting against. The Senate passed a measure unanimously on Sept. 16.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who attended the public memorial for Kirk in Arizona last month, introduced the Senate resolution. During his remarks in favor of the resolution, Scott stated that millions of people “felt the impact of Charlie’s work and were inspired by his devotion to God and his beliefs.”
“Charlie was a good man — a devout husband, father, and friend. His life was shaped by his faith and the idea that in America, debate and discussion are crucial to the betterment of our country,” Scott said.
“He believed in God, the American dream, the value of family, and the principles of our great nation. … Charlie dedicated his life to the idea that the power of our ideas can not only win the day, but start a movement. That’s exactly what he did.”
Scott’s resolution “encourages educational institutions, civic organizations, and citizens across the United States to observe [Oct. 14] with appropriate programs, activities, prayers, and ceremonies that promote civic, engagement and the principles of faith, liberty, and democracy that Charlie Kirk championed.”
The co-founder and leader of Turning Point USA, a young conservative activist group, Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, leaving behind a wife and two small children.
Soon after the shooting, police arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Washington County, Utah, after a family member contacted authorities to state that he was likely the killer.
While an official motive has not yet been established, evidence suggests that Robinson shot Kirk in opposition to the prominent activist’s conservative viewpoints, especially on social issues.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a press conference held after Robinson’s arrest that he considered the tragedy to be a “watershed” moment, imploring people of all political backgrounds to repudiate political violence and to be more civil in disagreements.
“This is our moment. Do we escalate or do we find an off ramp?” he said. “Again, it’s a choice, it’s a choice, and every one of us gets to make that choice.”
“It is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been, and who we could be in better times.”
While 95 House Democrats voted to approve the ceremonial measure honoring Kirk, 58 voted against the resolution, 38 voted present and 22 abstained.
Opponents of the House resolution from the Congressional Black Caucus claimed it would “legitimize” his worldview, calling it one that “many Americans find racist, harmful, and fundamentally un-American.” They pointed to past comments Kirk made about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to criticisms of prominent black politicians, such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Opposition to the resolution from Democrats drew the ire of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who claimed the resolution was a “simple gesture of human decency to denounce political violence.”
“I wish I could say that this was only a fringe group, but 96 votes is nearly half of the entire House Democrat caucus,” Leavitt said at the time.
“And they didn’t just vote against this basic resolution condemning political violence,” she added. “A number of those same Democrats took to the House floor to smear Charlie Kirk’s name. The man wasn’t even buried yet, and Democrat members of Congress were denigrating his memory on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
