Republican lawmakers on Wednesday moved forward with a proposal that would designate Oct. 14 each year as "Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance" in Florida.
The GOP-controlled Senate Education Postsecondary Committee voted 4-2 along party lines to back the Senate version of the measure (SB 192), while the House Government Operations Subcommittee voted 13-5, also along party lines, to approve an identical House bill (HB 125).
Kirk, a co-founder and executive director of the national conservative group Turning Point USA, was murdered in September during an appearance at Utah Valley University. Oct. 14 was Kirk's birthday.
Senate bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, said "Kirk motivated an entire generation to get involved, ask questions and defend the principles that make our country strong."
Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Marco Island, said her House bill is about defending free speech. "I'm sure in this body many people have said many controversial things, and controversial to some, controversial not to others," Benarroch said.
But Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, questioned honoring a person who has "done things that have been very bigoted and racist and misogynist."
While the proposal would put the Kirk remembrance day in state law, it wouldn't create a state holiday or mandate agency closures.
The Senate bill will next go to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, while the House version will go to the State Affairs Committee.
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