Republicans’ Charlie Kirk holiday push exposes a hollow platform
With state legislative sessions starting up around the country, state-level Republicans have a top priority: creating a holiday to honor the life of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk, who was murdered last year at a public event. The push to commemorate Kirk, however, exposes the GOP’s lack of a real policy platform that actually impacts regular people.
Three states so far are moving forward with legislative efforts to create a holiday honoring Kirk — Florida, Kansas and West Virginia – though others are considering similar moves.
In the Florida state House, Republicans advanced a bill out of committee to create a “Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance” on Oct. 14, the day of the late activist’s birthday. Similarly, Kansas lawmakers approved a measure in late January to create a “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day” on the same day. In West Virginia, the state Senate adopted a resolution to make Oct. 14 “Charlie Kirk Day” in early February.
“It is our business in this legislature to protect all and make sure our rights are protected, because when violence becomes an acceptable response to speech, then the First Amendment becomes meaningless,” Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Fla., who sponsored the Florida provision, said.
The multi-state push comes months after Kirk died last September. That day, President Donald Trump ordered that flags be flown at half-staff in his honor and on Oct. 14, 2025, the president proclaimed the day to be a day of remembrance for the right-wing activist, whom he praised for “Defending the truth, encouraging debate, and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“If you have to go through such mental and verbal gymnastics to explain away what this man said, how does he deserve a day of remembrance?”
These three states are also not the only ones heading towards an annual celebration of Kirk. Oklahoma celebrated “Charlie Kirk Day” on Oct. 14 last year and state Republicans are supporting a measure that would make Sept. 10, the day he died, a state holiday. In Pennsylvania, Republicans have outlined a plan to create a “Charlie Kirk Day,” though it’s not clear the idea has the same support there.
The various measures reignited a debate over the right-winger’s legacy that had erupted in the wake of his death, with lawmakers in Florida circulating quotes from Kirk in opposition to the bill, including comments on rejecting feminism, whites being replaced by immigrants, having “a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor,” and how “Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America.”
“If you have to go through such mental and verbal gymnastics to explain away what this man said, how does he deserve a day of remembrance?” Florida Sen. Tina Polsky, said in December.
Importantly, the Florida measure would enshrine the celebration of Kirk as a day of remembrance, rather than a state holiday, meaning people would observe the day in honor of Kirk, but it wouldn’t allow for time off from school or work. The only figure who currently has a day of remembrance in Florida is former President Ronald Reagan, on Feb. 6. On this year’s occasion, Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a gilded statue of the former president.
Other opponents of the Kirk-themed holidays have questioned why lawmakers are prioritizing the issue over more material issues that might have a bigger impact on their constituents’ lives.
Brooklynne Mosley, a Democratic Kansas state representative, told Salon that not a single constituent has expressed support for a Kirk holiday from her district.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
“We’ve solved so many things in the state of Kansas that people are getting bounties for trans people using the bathroom and we have time to get someone who has no attachment to Kansas a ‘free speech day,’ even though free speech is codified in the constitution,” Mosley said. “This has been a very frustrating session.”
Mosley suggested that instead of working to make a Kirk holiday, Kansas lawmakers could fully fund special education programs in the state, or address rural hospital closures or raise the minimum wage.
“I care about issues that are going to uplift the everyday Kansans so that they can not only live in our state, but thrive in our state. And we are focused on culture war issues in this legislature,” Mosley said.
Read more
about politics