By Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate voted along partisan lines Wednesday to approve a resolution designating each Oct. 14 as a day to honor the late Charlie Kirk’s commitment to the constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.
The resolution celebrated by Republicans and rejected by Democrats was offered by Sen. Tim Shallenburger, R-Baxter Springs, as a means of expressing appreciation for Kirk following his assassination in September 2025 while speaking at a Utah college. Kirk was known to host public events and verbally spar with attendees on public policy issues. He drew admirers and critics for controversial positions on civil rights, LGBTQ+ topics and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Senate resolution, adopted 30-9, would recognize his date of birth as Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day in Kansas. Annual recognition of his birth, and death, was drafted by GOP sponsors to bring attention to importance of First Amendment rights and the value of civic discourse.
“All members of the Republican Party signed it,” Shallenburger said. “He was known for visiting college campuses to engage with those who disagreed with him.”
Lengthy Senate debate on the resolution included two amendments proposed by Democrats and rebuffed by Republicans. Both were ruled not germane to the resolution.
Sen. Silas Miller, a Wichita Democrat, began the conversation by expressing objections to the state government bestowing honor on Kirk. Miller referenced widely published statements attributed to Kirk that included his criticism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a comment that he questioned whether Black airline pilots were qualified. He shared other quotes from Kirk in a document distributed to Senate members.
“Are these really the words you want to stand behind?” Miller, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, asked fellow senators. “I agreed to fight for everyone’s right to free speech whether I agreed with the speech or not. It’s one of the most fundamental rights afforded to all Americans, thanks to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican running for governor, came out of his seat to defend Kirk. He objected to Miller’s distribution of quotes from Kirk without including information that would place those statements in context.
“What you heard right there were the top three out-of-context, misrepresented, BS remarks that I’ve heard in the public media,” Masterson said. “I ask each of you, look at the entire list and go look at the context and the full breadth of the comments. It’s so far out of context, it’s appalling. It is the opposite of what (Kirk’s) talking about. He represented Christ’s love inside difficult conversations.”
Specifically, Masterson took issue with references to Kirk’s declaration that it was a “huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.” The landmark law has been viewed as one of the most significant pieces of civil rights law since Reconstruction. The federal law banned segregation in public accommodations, schools and workplaces and prohibited discrimination based on race, color and religion.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s factcheck.org confirmed Kirk spoke to this issue in 2023 during a Turning Point USA conference. The center said Kirk explained the 1964 civil rights act led to a “permanent DEI-type bureaucracy” that served to hinder free speech.
In addition, Miller referenced a statement attributed to Kirk that, “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’ ” A Yahoo News fact check confirmed the quote, but the fact check said Kirk made the comment during a 2024 podcast about DEI and how it could inspire so-called “thought crime.”
“You wanna go thought crime?” Kirk said in terms of unwholesome thinking driven by DEI. “I’m sorry. If I see a Black pilot, I’m gonna be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’ That’s not who I am. That’s not what I believe.”
Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, proposed an amendment to the resolution that would have inserted references to President Donald Trump into the document to recognize the president’s level of commitment to free speech. It was defeated 30-8.
Haley said he originally viewed the Kirk resolution with dread, but subsequently decided it was an opportunity for the Senate to “clear the air” by delving into perspectives on speech championed by Kirk as well as Trump. He said he assumed Senate Republicans wouldn’t miss the opportunity to support Trump.
“Trump carries a bigger stick in the American psyche,” Haley said.
That was followed by an amendment from Sen. Patrick Schmidt, D-Topeka. Schmidt said he stood for the right of people under the First Amendment to make divisive statements even if “I consider that speech abhorrent, ugly, disgusting.”
Schmidt said the Kirk resolution could be improved by touting Kirk’s allegiance to the Second Amendment and raising the profile of comments by Trump that appeared to undermine the right to bear arms exercised by Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents during immigration protests in Minneapolis.
Sen. Virgil Peck, a Havana Republican presiding over the Senate, asked Schmidt to stop straying from the notion of honoring Kirk. Schmidt returned to his remarks about Pretti’s death and Trump’s view that Pretti shouldn’t have brought a gun to the protest. At that point, Peck slammed his gavel.
“You will not disrespect the chair,” Peck said. “You will not continue down this line of communication. You will stay on the resolution.”
