Mike Kennedy: “Mr. Speaker, just days ago, Charlie Kirk was assassinated by an act of deranged cowardice. His death was not only the…”

“Mr. Speaker, just days ago, Charlie Kirk was assassinated by an act of deranged cowardice. His death was not only the loss of a husband, but a father, and a friend to many. It is also a sobering reminder that the very rights he spent his life defending must never be taken for granted, rights endowed to each of us by our creator and effectuated by our Constitution. This resolution officially honors Charlie Kirk's commitment to the constitutional principles of civil discussion and debate between all people of the United States, regardless of political affiliation. From the beginning of our Nation, freedom of speech has been a foundational liberty for the American people. The architects of our Republic enshrined the right to speak one's mind without fear as a first principle, knowing that if the people were silenced, then every other freedom would be in peril. Throughout our history, Americans have disagreed fiercely and vigorously about politics, morality, and the course of our Nation, but history shows that responding to words with hatred or violence only sets us back. Instead, generation after generation, we have chosen the harder path: to keep the conversation going and to answer speech we oppose with more speech and with reason, civility, and conviction, rather than be intimidated by violence or dragged down into vengeance. The Founders placed their faith in the power of truth and discourse.”