The Wisconsin Senate and Assembly approved a resolution honoring the life of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as Dems sought unsuccessfully to amend it to condemn all political violence.
The Senate passed the resolution along party lines after a more than hour-long debate yesterday. The Assembly yesterday approved the resolution 54-42, with Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, joining Republicans in favor.
SJR 88 notes Kirk’s “powerful voice, seen in his writings, broadcasts, and countless speeches, challenged complacency, awakened courage, and emboldened millions to take up the cause of freedom with renewed strength and clarity.”
Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, at one point called for the microphone of Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, to be cut off, arguing his comments about the impact of something Kirk said about a local school district superintendent were “out of order.”
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Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, offered an amendment to the measure, which Republicans unanimously voted down, that she said “condemns all forms of political violence.”
“We want to go on record to say that political violence and threats have no place in our society,” she said.
Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, while wearing a button featuring Kirk’s face and the word “Freedom” on his suit jacket, hailed him as “a voice of clarity in a time of confusion.”
“And that voice, so full of passion and purpose, was silenced in an unspeakable act of violence,” he continued.
Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, railed against the resolution, blasting Kirk’s words as “racist, bigoted and laced with hatred.” She also read off a series of quotes from Kirk, including one in which Kirk said “‘Democrats hate this country.’”
“Choosing to whitewash his legacy in death does not erase who he was or what he stood for,” she said.
During the Assembly debate, Assistant Minority Leader Kalan Haywood, D-Milwaukee, criticized Republicans for past opposition to Black History Month resolutions, questioning why the bar was different for Kirk. He listed off a series of quotes from Kirk, including one calling the passage of the Civil Rights Act a “mistake.”
