The Santa Barbara County Republican Party extends our deepest condolences to the family of Charlie Kirk, his wife Erika, their two young children, and his supporters. His assassination yesterday at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, has shaken America to its core. This senseless act reveals the deep depravity that hate can drive someone to commit.
Charlie was not a hater. In fact, he welcomed open debate and challenges to his thinking. He defended conservative principles through common sense, not violence. His message for freedom of speech challenged youth everywhere. In 2012, he founded Turning Point USA to debate issues on college campuses around the country, including UCSB. Calm, cool, and collected, he always had an answer for every question thrown at him on college campuses and elsewhere.
A defining figure in American politics, he was an American citizen exercising his First Amendment rights in a nation founded on the principles of liberty and free speech. He may have thought differently from you, but he would defend your right to those opinions. A person who thinks differently from you is not a threat to be eliminated.
President Donald Trump announced, “No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL…”
Charlie's assassination is not just an attack on him, but on all who believe in free speech, limited government, and individual liberty.
Pastor Jack Hibbs, from Chino Hills, knew Charlie for years and was incredibly proud of how he honored the Lord Jesus Christ with his life. Known as an intellectual giant, although he never attended college, he was a very compassionate young man.
We cannot allow this tragedy to silence debate. Although he was only 31 years old, he will be remembered for his passionate defense of freedom of speech. We are praying for Charlie's family during this unimaginable loss.
Bobbi McGinnis
Chairwoman
Santa Barbara County Republican Party
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