Kirk “is a martyr, and martyrs have more power when they’re dead than they do when they’re alive.” Missouri State Rep. Burt Whaley captured the sentiment among conservative activists and lawmakers who gathered this past weekend at the State Freedom Caucus Network Summit, where the memory of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk loomed large. Kirk was killed by a left-wing radical one year ago last Thursday.
The anniversary struck harder than many expected. SFCN President Andy Roth told The Federalist the one-year mark “hit me a lot harder than I thought” it would. “There were a lot of people that were devastated by it, but the time afterwards was remarkable to me. It’s like you lost somebody that you knew, or a family member, or a dear friend.”
Kirk spent much of his adult life championing conservative causes, famously taking his message onto hostile college campuses to engage younger generations on the issues of the day. But those who knew him say it wasn’t just politics that defined his legacy. It was his unapologetic faith.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told the outlet that Kirk stood apart from other conservative voices precisely because of his willingness to proclaim his Christianity in the most difficult environments.
“People think it was just about the Constitution and freedom and limited government and those things, but there’s a lot of people who talk about those things,” Roy said. “Charlie was willing to talk about his faith and the things that mattered at a higher level in the belly of the beast, in university campuses, and in forums.”
Whaley praised Kirk for “bringing the Word of God with boldness back to the people,” adding that Kirk “set an example” for believers everywhere.
“We cannot forget Charlie and the boldness that he has ignited,” Whaley said. “I think when we look at that, we look at Christ first. We look at a Christ life first, and that that runs our agenda.”
Wyoming State Rep. John Bear, a Freedom Caucus member, expressed disappointment that Kirk’s death hasn’t sparked a deeper spiritual renewal across the nation. “I think that if the evangelical community in Wyoming but also America would step up and boldly proclaim their faith and understand their responsibility in the public sector, as far as serving in our government and voting and promoting good conservative values that align with Scripture,” like Kirk did, “the whole world would change,” Bear told The Federalist.
“I’m pretty disappointed 12 months later that there wasn’t more of a heartfelt change in America based on that,” he added. “If you look at how this country was founded, those are the kind of things that made us a great nation.”
Montana Freedom Caucus Secretary Bob Phelan said Americans “could learn a lot” from “Kirk’s love for Christ.”
Beyond his faith witness, Kirk played a critical role in holding together the various factions within the conservative movement, according to Oklahoma State Sen. Dusty Deevers, the state’s Freedom Caucus Vice Chair.
“If he were here, I don’t think that we would have the same level of fracturing,” Deevers said. “I think we would have divisions, no doubt, but we would have more of a central figure that people could ally behind.”
Without Kirk, Deevers observed, internal disagreements have become more public. “The downstream coalitions would probably talk more behind the scenes instead of more overtly and out to the public, and I think we would see less fracturing among our allies.”
Kirk brought “the moral foundation back to the fore,” one speaker noted, reminding Americans that the nation is built on something deeper than transactions. It’s built on truth.
