I’ll admit it. I watched the Charlie Kirk video. When I saw the headline that he had been shot in the neck, I guess I assumed it would be like Trump getting shot in the ear. Superficial … I opened my X app and scrolled, and there it was. A video taken at close range. My mouth hung open. That can’t be real, I thought. Then, he’s definitely dead. For the next hour before it was confirmed, I continued to scan the headlines, text my siblings, and debate whether or not his murder will result in any meaningful change (doubtful). To be clear, I believe that Charlie Kirk was a vile human being whose incendiary rhetoric and conspiracy theories put the lives of many at risk – mostly minorities, immigrants, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. He died in the middle of spouting anti-trans and racist nonsense to a crowd of thousands, but he did not deserve to die of gun violence. 

As a queer person, I’m used to the gray area. Sometimes people I really like support politicians who don’t support my family’s right to exist. Sometimes I spend my money at businesses that have cut their DEI programs. Today I feel despair that a right-wing pro-gun advocate died of gun violence. I don’t believe anyone should die that way. My stance on gun reform aside, Kirk’s murder comes just days after reports that the Department of Justice is considering a possible ban on the right to own firearms for transgender Americans.

It’s easy to simply say: America is divided. The right will blame the left and Donald Trump will fly flags at half-staff (something he did not do after the assassination of Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman in June of this year), but we have to continue to speak up and speak out against men like Charlie Kirk who try to vilify us and take away our rights. He was the villain. And he should still be alive. 

As the right spins the story and inevitably uses Kirk’s murder to increase their hate speech, we must continue to protect each other, to support our own LGBTQ+ community and the at-risk communities of our neighbors. I am often overcome with cynicism.