Make September 10 a Federal Holiday Honoring Charlie Kirk and the Defense of Free Speech
The Issue
Disclaimer: This petition does not claim that Charlie Kirk and Martin Luther King Jr. shared the same ideology, values, or goals. They did not. Kirk openly criticized King and called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a mistake that has been twisted into a system of racial preferences. The only real parallel is structural: both men were young Christian public figures who organized mass movements, challenged the dominant power of their era, and were assassinated while speaking in public. Equating their worldviews would be a false premise. This petition is about rejecting political murder and defending free speech, not rewriting history.
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old. He was answering questions in an open forum, the very definition of the American tradition of free speech, when a gunman ended his life.
Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA and spent his adult life organizing young Americans around the principles of free markets, limited government, individual liberty, biological reality, and the Judeo-Christian foundations of this country. He believed the best ideas should win in open debate, and he lived that belief by walking onto the most hostile campuses in America and taking every question. He was killed for it.
America has already recognized that when a public leader is murdered for challenging the prevailing order of his time, the nation itself is wounded. That is why Congress created a federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after his assassination. The same principle of rejecting political assassination applies here. Political violence is a direct attack on the First Amendment and on the ability of free people to govern themselves through persuasion rather than bullets.
We call on Congress to designate September 10 as a federal holiday:
- To honor Charlie Kirk’s life and work defending free speech, limited government, and traditional American values
- To reaffirm that no American should ever be killed for the peaceful expression of political or religious beliefs
- To create a permanent national day of reflection on the cost of political violence and the duty of every citizen to protect open debate
This is not a partisan demand. Democrats and Republicans alike claim to oppose political assassination and to defend free speech when it is convenient. September 10 should become the day America proves it means those words when the victim is a conservative Christian activist who told hard truths.
Sign this petition if you believe Charlie Kirk’s assassination must not be allowed to stand as just another news cycle. Sign if you believe free speech is worth defending even when the speaker offends you. Sign if you believe America still has the moral clarity to honor a man who died practicing the rights the Constitution guarantees.
Make September 10 a federal holiday. Defend the right to speak. Honor the man who would not be silent.
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The Issue
Disclaimer: This petition does not claim that Charlie Kirk and Martin Luther King Jr. shared the same ideology, values, or goals. They did not. Kirk openly criticized King and called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 a mistake that has been twisted into a system of racial preferences. The only real parallel is structural: both men were young Christian public figures who organized mass movements, challenged the dominant power of their era, and were assassinated while speaking in public. Equating their worldviews would be a false premise. This petition is about rejecting political murder and defending free speech, not rewriting history.
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. He was 31 years old. He was answering questions in an open forum, the very definition of the American tradition of free speech, when a gunman ended his life.
Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA and spent his adult life organizing young Americans around the principles of free markets, limited government, individual liberty, biological reality, and the Judeo-Christian foundations of this country. He believed the best ideas should win in open debate, and he lived that belief by walking onto the most hostile campuses in America and taking every question. He was killed for it.
America has already recognized that when a public leader is murdered for challenging the prevailing order of his time, the nation itself is wounded. That is why Congress created a federal holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after his assassination. The same principle of rejecting political assassination applies here. Political violence is a direct attack on the First Amendment and on the ability of free people to govern themselves through persuasion rather than bullets.
We call on Congress to designate September 10 as a federal holiday:
- To honor Charlie Kirk’s life and work defending free speech, limited government, and traditional American values
- To reaffirm that no American should ever be killed for the peaceful expression of political or religious beliefs
- To create a permanent national day of reflection on the cost of political violence and the duty of every citizen to protect open debate
This is not a partisan demand. Democrats and Republicans alike claim to oppose political assassination and to defend free speech when it is convenient. September 10 should become the day America proves it means those words when the victim is a conservative Christian activist who told hard truths.
Sign this petition if you believe Charlie Kirk’s assassination must not be allowed to stand as just another news cycle. Sign if you believe free speech is worth defending even when the speaker offends you. Sign if you believe America still has the moral clarity to honor a man who died practicing the rights the Constitution guarantees.
Make September 10 a federal holiday. Defend the right to speak. Honor the man who would not be silent.
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Petition created on September 10, 2026