Overview
- On a 5-2 party-line vote, the Senate Government Oversight and Accountability Committee approved SB 194 to recognize Charlie Kirk’s birthday as a remembrance day.
- Under the proposal, the governor would issue an annual Oct. 14 proclamation, with no school or workplace closures.
- Sponsor Sen. Jonathan Martin said the bill is intended to denounce political violence and argued Kirk’s controversial comments were taken out of context.
- Democrats opposed the measure, citing Kirk’s statements on race, women and guns, and noting it would place him alongside Ronald Reagan as one of the few individuals named in Florida statute.
- The bill now heads to the Senate Education Postsecondary Committee with additional approvals still required, and a House companion has been filed as context includes Kirk’s September assassination and a 22-year-old suspect charged.