Arizona’s Democratic Governor has turned down proposals for a new state license plate featuring Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, saying it would not “bring people together.”
“Charlie Kirk's assassination is tragic and a horrifying act of violence. In America, we resolve our political differences at the ballot box,” Governor Katie Hobbs said in a statement Friday. “No matter who it targets, political violence puts us all in harm's way and damages our sacred democratic institutions.
“I will continue working toward solutions that bring people together, but this bill falls short of that standard by inserting politics into a function of government that should remain nonpartisan.”
Right-wing commentator Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus, in Utah on September 10. He lived in Arizona with his children and wife, Erika Kirk.
Since her husband’s death, Erika Kirk has become the CEO of TPUSA and vowed to carry on his legacy.
The suggested plate, known as the “Charlie Kirk memorial” plate, featured a photo of Kirk with his fist raised alongside the TPUSA logo in front of the American flag. Below the license number are the words “For Charlie.”
According to the proposal – SB 1439 – the legislation that would have authorized “an optional specialty license plate recognizing Charlie Kirk and supporting civic engagement efforts.”
According to the legislation, $17 of the $25 plate fee would be designated as an annual donation to the Conservative Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund. The recipient of the fund was not specifically named in the legislation.
However, the bill noted that the funds must be allocated to a non-profit founded in 2012 that aims to “restore traditional values,” has a “grassroots activist network” on high school and college campuses, and helps college students with voter registration and absentee ballots.
Turning Point USA was founded by Kirk in 2012.
Hobbs’ decision to veto the plate caused outrage among Republican lawmakers who blasted it as “grotesque partisanship.”
Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman, who co-sponsored the bill, wrote: “Even in the wake of a global civil rights leader — an Arizona resident and her own constituent — being assassinated in broad daylight for his defense of the First Amendment, Hobbs couldn’t find the human decency to put her far-Left extremism aside simply to allow those how wish to honor him to do so.
“Katie Hobbs will forever be known as a stain on the pages of Arizona’s story.”
The speciality plate is not the only example of state-specific memorials to Kirk.
In Florida, several roads have been renamed after the commentator, including one in Miami-Dade County, which is set to become “Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue." In October, Collier County Commissioners designated a stretch of road “Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway,” though they classed it as a memorial designation.
Last week, the Florida House passed a bill designating every October 14 as Charlie Kirk Day.
In addition, multiple states, including Tennessee and Oklahoma, have introduced legislation to construct “memorial plazas” in honor of Kirk.
One Tennessee proposal, HB 2025, would require every public university in the state to erect a 40-by-40-foot courtyard on its main campus in order to encourage civil discourse among students, staff and visitors, according to WZTV.
Such courtyards would display the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Tennessee Constitution, and the Ten Commandments. They would also feature Kirk’s name and date of death.
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