Let’s get the formalities out of the way. I don’t support the assassination of Charlie Kirk, nor do I celebrate it. I want to make it abundantly clear that I don’t support political violence in any way.
However, our gun control laws (or lack thereof) perpetuate political violence, ultimately leading to a society where violence is normalized. In my eyes, America and its institutions are violent, and Kirk’s death is a testament to that fact.
Kirk’s assassination, while brutal, was not the most gory thing I’ve ever seen. If you disagree, you probably weren’t exposed to hundreds of instances of violent police brutality in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests. You were sleeping when the Jan. 6 riots were happening. And you probably aren’t aware that gun violence is the leading cause of death for teens and children in the United States. To live in America is to be constantly exposed to violence and to the political rhetoric that perpetuates it.
I attribute America’s violence to the 2nd Amendment and our unfettered access to guns. We live in a country where possessing a weapon capable of taking several innocent lives at once is a constitutionally protected right. Furthermore, our elected officials seem to be unable to pass comprehensive legislation to restrict access.
Imagine a world in which Americans under the age of 25 were not allowed to purchase or be in the possession of rifles. I think that Kirk would still be alive. I believe it would be the only thing that would keep him alive. Not calls for unity. Not thoughts and prayers. I believe that we need stricter gun control laws.
What if we were to ban semiautomatic weapons with the ability to gun down tens of people within minutes? Such a ban could have saved the 2,500 people who either died or were injured in mass shootings in 2024. It could have saved the one person who was killed and the 24 other people who were injured in the Kansas City Super Bowl Rally. Colt Gray wouldn’t have taken the lives of four people with an assault rifle at Apalachee High School. Like Kirk’s death, most mass shootings and instances of gun violence can be prevented with stricter gun laws.
Unfortunately, American gun culture is so prevalent that for elected officials to pass gun control legislation in response to Kirk’s death or other recent shootings feels almost impossible. In actuality, Republicans are pushing legislation that would loosen restrictions on rifles and silencers.
The inability of our elected officials to pass gun control legislation demonstrates the incompetence of our democratic institutions. When we doubt the integrity of our voting system, and political polarization continues to separate us into left and right, political violence thrives. Individuals like Tyler Robinson, who have no faith in our democratic system and institutions, turn to political violence to voice their dissent and make change. Instead of having faith that our vote will matter in the next presidential election, the public celebrates Trump’s health issues, hoping that his untimely demise will bring us some relief, rather than a democratic election. In my opinion, the American public has lost faith in our government and our entire electoral process.
The rhetoric following Kirk’s death further demonstrates this loss of faith. Naturally, this topic evolved into a left versus right issue. It was quickly assumed, without much evidence, that Robinson was motivated by liberal ideology to kill Kirk. While new evidence shows that Robinson had left-leaning views, this debate has pulled the attention away from the actual issue at hand: gun control and political violence. Instead of evaluating our loose gun laws, Republican commentators immediately blamed the left. Adding to the ongoing political divides, Trump declared war on liberals and vowed to seek retribution for Kirk’s death.
On the left, the response has been equally disastrous, with people celebrating Kirk’s death. While the hate for Kirk’s political views is warranted, it’s disappointing to see that political violence is being widely accepted and celebrated. Murder and its glorification can never lead to any positive change; it can only weaken our democratic system.
Overall, the response to Kirk’s death has been disheartening, but not surprising. Every issue these days is divided between two political camps. Acts of violence and violent rhetoric are the preferred methods of enacting political change. In a country where political violence is normalized, the death of an ideological enemy is celebrated, and the death of a political ally becomes an impetus to carry out an agenda.
