Family First: Debate, not demonisation the lesson from Kirk’s assassination
Michael Barnett OAM
Debate, not demonisation the lesson from Kirk’s assassination
I awoke this morning to the news Charlie Kirk had been shot.
Minutes later his death was confirmed.
The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and father of two, was killed by a single rifle shot to the neck while speaking at a university campus in Utah.
A friend shared close-up footage to a What’s App group I’m in. The crack can be heard, he reals back grasping his neck. Blood spurts all over his white t-shirt. I can’t unsee it.
Kirk rose to prominence by venturing on to university campuses and engaging in honest discussion.
He challenged woke orthodoxy and the left hated him for it.
He would argue pro-life and pro-marriage and family positions with hostile students and academics.
“Change my mind”, was his mantra. Anyone could come to the microphone. While he could be robust, he was never rude, always gracious. He debated; he didn’t demonise.
He stood for monogamous heterosexual marriage and he was pro-life.
The left don’t debate, they use horrible slurs like “bigot” and call us “phobes”. They dehumanise their opponents.
This needs to stop.
Kirk reluctantly supported Donald Trump’s successful 2016 White House bid, became a true believer and then played a crucial role in getting out the vote amongst young people at the 2024 election.
He became and advisor and then confidant of Trump.
On July 28 Kirk posted on social media:
“Get married, have kids, and stop partying into oblivion. Leave a legacy, be courageous. Happy Sunday. God bless all the parents out there.”
Many of us in the pro-family movement have felt his murder as a deep gut punch and sobering wake up call.
My mind immediately went back to the bombing of the office inhabited by me and a courageous team in 2016.
At that time, the Australian Christian Lobby was one of the few voices in our nation arguing for the things Charlie was killed for.
At about 9pm four days before Christmas, a same-sex marriage political activist drove a car bomb to our office and detonated it, causing $100,000 in damages.
The Australian Federal Police, despite knowing the identity and political history of the assailant, declared that there was no political, religious or ideological motivation for the attack.
This was later proven false when court documents were obtained by the media.
But the point is Australia is not immune from politically motivated violence against those who advocate for the truth about marriage and family.
Our Jewish community have been frequent victims in the last two years at the hands of Hamas sympathisers.
There is no place for violence in the political discourse.
All Kirk sought was debate and discussion. That’s how free people in democracies sort out their differences.
But while proclaiming love and tolerance, too many on the left exhibit hate, something Charlie never did.
He paid the ultimate price for the beliefs millions of mainstream Australians hold in the face of a radical left determined to re-shape our society, one child’s gender identity at a time.
Whilst Kirk’s assassination is chilling and sobering, Family First will not back down.
We extend our condolences to his wife Erika, his children and wider family.
May he rest in peace.