The killing of Charlie Kirk makes America less safe and more hateful | Opinion
The killing of Charlie Kirk, a conservative commentator and staunch supporter of gun rights, is a despicable act of political violence. It has no place in our country.
The bedrock of American democracy is the right to stand up and say what you think, even if your opinions divide the room. It is the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, in part because the framers understood that the right to free speech is the dearest privilege of a free and honorable country.
Kirk was 31 when he was shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was a husband and the father of two small children.
He was also a vocal advocate of gun rights, and once said that: “Having an armed citizenry comes with a price.... I think it’s worth to have the cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every year.” Yet those who would condone or celebrate or find humor in the violence that ended Kirk’s life are headed down a dark and irretrievable path. A sentiment of sympathy may be difficult for some who opposed Kirk’s views on guns, transgender rights, race relations and other topics he forcefully addressed as the founder and leader of the conservative group, Turning Point USA.
But bigger than politics is our shared humanity and the essence of the First Amendment.
Many disagreed with Kirk on many topics, myself included. But his rights to express his views were protected just as my rights are. There is very little Kirk said that I didn’t oppose, but I would never want, and America should never want, harm to befall anyone simply because we oppose them politically.
The way Kirk chose to live his life should not beget yet more hatred, and America is a less safe place today because of this shooting. It solved nothing and only created opportunities for more violence, while threatening our rights protected by the First Amendment. What happened in Utah transcends partisan politics, and the spreading violence is not contained to one side.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom — who spoke with Kirk as his first guest on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast in March — posted on X immediately after the news that Kirk had been shot. Newsom called the attack on Kirk “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”
“In the United States of America,” Newsom wrote, “we must reject political violence in EVERY form.
The truth is that America is now in a dangerous period of political violence, the likes of which has not been seen since the politically-motivated deaths of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., both in 1968. In June, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their home. In April, an arsonist targeted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. In March, the headquarters of the Republican Party was damaged by fire. President Donald Trump survived a 2024 assassination attempt. A man broke into the home of the former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. The list goes on, and on.
“I call it our ‘era of violent populism’. It’s been about 50 years since we’ve seen something like this, and the situation is getting worse,” Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, told The Guardian in June.
Kirk was a divisive force in American politics, but it’s still vital to American democracy that we continue to try to connect and empathize with one another. That humanity is perhaps even more important in a moment when the victim’s own rhetoric added so greatly to the divide.
Kirk’s death was the 46th school shooting this year in the U.S., according to CNN. Tragically, the 47th happened mere moments later, when at least two Denver-area high school students were also shot, and remain in critical condition.
My heart aches today for the families of the victims in Colorado, for all victims of gun violence, for Kirk’s wife and children — and for our country.
Robin Epley is a columnist for McClatchy and the Sacramento Bee.
This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM with the headline "The killing of Charlie Kirk makes America less safe and more hateful | Opinion."
