In the wake of the heartbreaking news, SPN President and CEO Tracie Sharp has written the following reflection on the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Dear Friends,
Today’s assassination of Charlie Kirk is a shocking tragedy and his loss will be felt deeply. He was a devoted husband, father, and one of America’s brightest young leaders, who shaped the liberty movement by reaching this generation with messages about limited government and freedom. His influence and reach cannot be overstated.
This senseless act—targeting a man who dared to stand for his political convictions—will increase the temperature in our national discourse. It calls Americans to a new level of vigilance and to resist further escalation, even as some may react callously to this news. Like the name of Charlie’s organization, perhaps this tragedy can become a turning point for how we engage as a nation.
At SPN we are channeling our righteous anger toward better outcomes for all Americans. We exist to defend the very values this assassin opposed—to make lives better, not destroy them; for civil discourse, not vitriol and hate.
The best way for each of us to honor the legacy of courageous, convictional Americans like Charlie, is to counter the vitriol and hate with a resolve to resist the disintegration and hopelessness that would try to pull our nation under. This Network hosts scores of public events, and we continue to do so now to model our best efforts at exercising free speech, thoughtful persuasion, and civil discourse. The people who count on us need to know they aren’t alone.
Americans are better when their communities are free. That is what Charlie believed in. That is what you believe in. That is what we fight to defend.
For Liberty,
