95 Democrats joined 215 Republicans on Friday, adopting a US home resolution honoring far-right activist Charlie Kirk who was assassinated last week.
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Kirk was known for his anti-LGBTQ+, racist, and misogynistic statements.
Solvedintroduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Kirk calls himself a “brave American patriot,” who has been committed to “civil debate and debate.” His death “is a reminder of the growing threat posed by political extremism and hatred in OU society.”
It urges “leaders at all levels, including government, education, and the media” to “come united by clearly denounce political violence, regardless of ideology.”
Fifty-eight Democrats opposed the resolution, 38 currently voted, and 22 did not vote. The four Republicans did not vote.
Related: Charlie Kirk said gay people were “complete law” – and these other heinous quotes
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told his fellow Democrats at a closed door meeting on Thursday that the leader supported the resolution, while others were free to vote. Some Democrats said they fear violence if they opposed it, axios Report, or at least report that no votes will be used against them.
A lesbian Vermont Democrat said axios The resolution was “a very painful medicine to swallow for all those communities,” after the meeting, [Kirk] She’s been attacking for many years, but she’ll vote for it because “it needs to be condemned for political violence.”
“If Republicans are sincere in condemning political violence, they will bring resolutions that will gain full bipartisan support…but I have not taken the bait,” she added.
Related: We shouldn’t sanitize Charlie Kirk’s hateful life after death
Among other LGBTQ+ membersSarah McBride, Angie Craig, Eric Sorensen, Mark Takano, Sharis David and Chris Papas voted for Jesus. Robert Garcia and Richie Torres did not vote. Mark Pokan and Julie Johnson have now voted. And Emily Randall voted no.
Jamie Ruskin, a progressive Democrat in Maryland, said he voted for the resolution to “repeatly condemn all political violence, extremism and hatred in clear terms.” Guardian Report. He said, “We should overlook the surplus language included in this resolution, designed to make Democrats’ votes difficult. We cannot fall into that obvious political trap, and we should go above it.”
But New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who voted no, believed that “we should be clear about who Charlie Kirk is. Civil Rights Act, which grants the right to vote for Black Americans, was “mistake,” and that those who claimed that after the violent attacks on Paul Pelosi, “surprising Patriots” should be a “surprising Patriots.” It’s a nonprofit, a film, a Hollywood, and everything. “His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans.
“You cannot vote for this resolution because you are grossly misrepresenting Charlie Kirk’s methods, opinions and beliefs while quoting Christian nationalist language. I always condemn violent acts of violence, but this resolution ignores the false hate rhetoric that exists too often in his arguments.” Guardian.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
