On Wednesday, Charlie Kirk was gunned down. He was 31.
The shooting took place at Utah Valley University, during the launch of the right-wing activist’s “American Comeback Tour.” Moments before his death, Kirk was speaking to a crowd in his “Prove Me Wrong” tent, a space designed to promote political debate. He was answering questions about transgender shooters (whom research finds are responsible for less than 1% of all mass shootings) when the fatal shot was fired. As of publication, the assailant remains at large.
Leaders here and abroad were quick to speak in remembrance of Kirk. “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” posted President Donald Trump, who regarded Kirk as a close and trusted ally. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.” Other U.S. officials shared similar sentiments while condemning political violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added in his own statement: “Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom.”
Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was an outspoken conservative voice with a significant following, which he cultivated through Turning Point USA. He founded the organization in 2012, at age 18. As the nonprofit grew, so did his influence, and he increasingly shared his views around myriad topics, including: Women’s roles in society (that they should design their lives around stay-at-home motherhood); diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (that they pave the way for underqualified hires); and climate change (that global warming is a hoax).
He was also stridently anti-abortion, calling it “weaponized medical narcissism,” and saw danger in immigration, warning of “letting in an unlimited number of people from toxic cultures.”
Kirk took issue with gun safety legislation, too. “I think it’s worth [it] to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,” he said during a 2023 Turning Point USA event.
“That is a prudent deal,” he added. “It is rational.”
Those who work to curb gun violence noted, in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting, that such policies could have protected him. “The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart,” former Rep. Gabby Giffords, a victim of gun violence herself who turned to advocacy after her attack, said in a statement. “Both parties have been targeted – and both parties share a moral and patriotic duty to take meaningful action to stop gun crime from claiming more lives.”
Other notable progressives condemned the attack. “This is a violent act of hate that we must all denounce, all of us, regardless of party,” Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family, wrote.
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, and two children.
