College organizations and leaders of gun violence research centers are calling for an end to political violence following the deadly shooting of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, an influential conservative activist, was gunned down Wednesday, Sept 10 at an event at Utah Valley University which was the kick-off of a multi-campus Turning Point USA tour.
The group, Turning Point USA, aims to mobilize college-age Republicans and according to its website, there about 800 college chapters “promoting freedom-loving, American values.”
Mia Antonacci, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania and president of the Penn College Republicans, said there was initial shock Wednesday as she heard the news.
“It was a lot of texts from everyone who knows I’m pretty involved and engaged with the community,” Antonacci said. “Same questions I think a lot of the world still has…who, why…are kind of initial and still present.”
Antonacci, along with fellow organization board member Ireland Gorecki said, there was shock but also a sense of disheartenment over reactions from some classmates.
“The first reaction was ‘Hah! Deserves it’,” Gorecki said, referring to others’ reactions to the shooting. “It’s heavy to hear, especially given he’s a human being. Every human being serves some kind of empathy.”
Antonacci said she first learned about Kirk and his platform years ago online.
“One of the main reasons people are drawn to him, because he’s meeting them where they are. There’s no more direct way to talk to students, engage, disagree civically and in a respectful manner than literally coming to your college campus and inviting people to have these debates with you.”
Matthew Lamorgese, chair of the Philadelphia Young Republicans, said that is part of the powerhouse embodied by Kirk.
“I think it was that clash of ideas that was his strong suit,” Lamorgese said. “You have these students who are on these campuses where everything they hear is from the perspective of one side, so to have somebody come in and challenge that…I think…was refreshing for a lot of people, as well.”
The shooting Wednesday comes amid growing threats and violence against political figures on both sides of the aisle, from the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last summer to arson at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“We all need to focus on our rhetoric. We need our elected leaders to be clear that political violence is always wrong, and we need to focus on access. And people who are dangerous shouldn’t have access to firearms,” Josh Horwitz with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions said. “Sometimes that may mean only temporarily, but it’s very important that we focus at least on those three things, because this is a tragedy for America that we need really focus on.”
In a statement from the College Republicans of America, the organization said vigils will be held nationwide Thursday.
Lili Zheng
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