About Charlie Kirk 

I believe Charlie Kirk’s impact will be great and long-lasting. And I hope his foresight in naming his project – Turning Point – is realized. I’ve published several reader responses to his assassination. Here are a few more…

From GM: I’ve been trying to “make sense” and manage my feelings about Charlie and the unexpected impact it has had on me. Had I been able to pull it together, it would have looked like this essay written by Steve Patrick, Next Gen Pastor at Daystar Church in Cullman, Alabama, the day after the assassination:

Throughout your life, certain days with unexpected tragedies extremely bother you and stay with you a long, long, time. You never forget how you felt and how that incident shook you. Wednesday was one of those days and moments for me.

The only thing in my lifetime that I can compare the way I feel to, were my feelings on 9/11/01. For most of you, you probably can’t understand how I could compare the two. On 9/11, thousands lost their life tragically. Yesterday, one man lost his. I couldn’t explain it either… at first. I honestly wept at times all evening and I couldn’t sleep. I asked myself why the loss of one man’s life, as senseless and horrific as it was, unsettled me so much. I had seen Charlie Kirk on social media often over the last few years and had seen him on television. I was always impressed, was thankful for what he stood for, and I appreciated the way he invited open and respectful dialogue with those who disagreed with him. But tonight, as I listened to clip after clip of Charlie speaking to various college crowds and speaking via media interviews… I finally understood.

Maybe I can explain it in this way:

I never met him, but I feel like we were warriors together.
I could never speak as eloquently as him, yet I felt we had the same voice.
I was not in his squad, yet I felt that we were on the same mission.
I don’t have his intelligence and talent, but I seek to glorify God in what I have.
I don’t have his charisma and wit, so I put others on the platform.
I don’t desire to speak to great crowds, but I’ve prayed to have an impact.
I never knew him, yet my heart aches like the loss of a best friend.
I can’t articulate truth and thought like him, but I feel that we had the same “heart.”

From Joe Z: It’s insane to me that in 2025, the traditional Judeo-Christian values Charlie used as the basis for his (very reasonable) arguments, whether or not you agree with them, are somehow seen as extreme and even dangerous. So much so that he was murdered in cold blood… in broad daylight… on a college campus… with a microphone – not a weapon – in his hand… for espousing them. And most disturbing of all, this is seen by many as not only a justifiable act, but one worthy of immense praise. An act that many believe should be repeated against other prominent “conservative voices” with whom they disagree.

The one thing that inspires some hope in me has been the general reaction from most, but not all, conservatives. There were no riots. No looting. No fires in the streets. No violent mobs screaming for vengeance. Instead, there were vigils. There were moments of silence at football games. Church parking lots overflowed.

I think that’s a testament to Charlie and the people he inspired.