Gun violence ended a conversation about gun violence  when Political Speaker Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while sitting on the stage of Utah Valley University.

Now, it’s one of the only things we can talk about.

Charlie Kirk didn’t deserve to die.

He was a father, a husband, and a man of significance to many.

He was murdered.

He wasn’t a martyr.

He wasn’t killed because he was a Christian.

He wasn’t killed because he was a Republican.

He was killed because another sick man found a gun.

Since the shooting, flags have been flown at half-mast. His name is everywhere–news, social
media, conversations galore-even conspiracy theories as to who was actually behind the killing.

Vigils were held across the nation at churches, college campuses, and more.

The president himself made a statement.

NFL star Justin Jefferson pledged to pay all school and living expenses for Kirk’s kids.

“We want justice,” rings across the United States of America.

“Bring back public executions,” reads a post on Facebook. “That’ll stop the violence that’s plaguing our nation.”

Isn’t it funny how we suddenly care?

Wednesday, September 10 was the last day Charlie Kirk would be seen alive.

Wednesday, September 10 was also the day that Denver, CO, faced a school shooting, the 47th this year.

What about that?

What about the hundreds of students, as young as the age of five, who have lost their lives to gun violence?

Why aren’t we all talking about that?

Why weren’t the flags held at half-mast for them?

A child can’t be a politician, but Charlie Kirk wasn’t one either.

The flags weren’t at half-mast when Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman was killed.

Why is this what it took to realize this problem?

Why are we not all outraged at the lack of safety in the nation that we call home?

I don’t understand.

I also don’t understand our society’s reaction to Kirk’s death, either, though.

In a world full of cancel culture and sensitivity, who thought it was appropriate to post a video of a man being shot, with blood gushing out on live stream?

He is still a human. Or, he was one.

That said, Charlie Kirk was a human, which I also find important to note beneath these
circumstances. Just because he claimed to be a Christian does not mean he was perfect.

“Your body, my choice,” does not come out of the mouth of a saint, neither does a saint blame gun violence on sexual orientation or call the Civil Rights Act a mistake.

Just because he wasn’t perfect doesn’t mean he should be dead, either.

“What’s another senseless death, right?” one post read.

Any individual celebrating the death of another is no better than the man who shot Kirk, himself.

This isn’t a political problem. It’s a societal problem. And it’s a big one.

Putting Kirk on a pedestal is not the answer, but to laugh at his death is not, either.

Revoking the Second Amendment is not the answer, but neither is continuing to do nothing about the abuse of it.

Gun violence chooses no ideology, no demographic, no age, and saves no man.

If this isn’t a call to action, I don’t know what is.

We need to focus less on a political divide and more on a solution.