AP Photo Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., leads a memorial vigil to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed at an event in Utah last week, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

Legislation will soon be introduced in the state House that would establish Charlie Kirk Day as an official state holiday on the first Monday of August each year.

Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was a top podcaster, culture warrior and ally of President Donald Trump who was killed Sept. 10 by an assassin in Utah. Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Jonestown, introduced a co-sponsorship memorandum for a bill he is drafting to honor Kirk every year. West Virginia legislators are considering similar legislation in October each year on Kirk’s birthday.

“Honoring Charlie Kirk’s life and work would continue Pennsylvania’s long history as the nation’s foremost guarantor of free speech – a legacy dating back to our commonwealth’s 1776 Constitution, in which we were the first state in the world to enshrine the freedom of speech in a constitution.,” Diamond wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “By establishing Charlie Kirk Day on the first Monday of each August, the month when college and university students traditionally return to campus, we can honor his legacy and continue his work to celebrate, encourage, and teach peaceful and civil political discourse to all Americans.”

It’s unclear if Diamond’s legislation stands much chance of becoming law given that Democrats control the state House and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s criticism of President Donald Trump over the weekend. While Shapiro last week ordered United States and Commonwealth flags on all state facilities, public buildings, and grounds across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff as a mark of respect for Kirk’s memory of Charlie Kirk through Sept. 14. Not all Democrats agreed with Shapiro’s decision. Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, was critical last week of Shapiro’s decision to lower flags to half-mast, which followed a federal order by President Donald Trump. Shapiro, meanwhile, was critical of Trump’s statement condemning political violence because it didn’t list recent attacks on Democratic lawmakers – including Shapiro.

“I think it is dangerous when the president cherry picks which political violence he’s going to condemn and which he’s going to allow to just simply pass. I think we need to be universal in condemning all political violence,” Shapiro said to ABC News on Friday.

It prompted calls for greater civility in the country’s political discourse, especially on social media. But many people have made comments about Kirk and the shooting that brought consequences. Numerous workers have been fired for their comments on Kirk’s death, among them MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd.

It’s not the first time people have lost jobs over things they say publicly, but the speed of the firings has raised questions about free speech rights.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ education commissioner warned teachers in the state that making “disgusting” statements about Kirk’s assassination could draw sanctions, including the suspension or revocation of their teaching licenses.

A conservative internet personality who is embedded with immigration agents in Chicago filmed a video outside Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s private home in which he urged viewers to “take action” after Kirk’s assassination. Pritzker’s office said his security has been increased in recent days.

Partisans have been fighting over who’s to blame for Kirk’s death, but experts on political violence say many of those who commit such crimes seem to act on beliefs that don’t map clearly onto partisan lines. They say the broader political environment is more important: The more heated the atmosphere, the more likely it is to lead unstable people to commit acts of violence.