An Oklahoma Republican senator filed legislation Wednesday to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University last week.
Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee), chair of the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus, filed three pieces of legislation honoring Kirk.
A proposed bill would establish Kirk’s birthday, Oct. 14, as “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day.” Another bill would require a memorial for Kirk on public college campuses, and a resolution would officially honor the conservative activist in the Legislature.
Senate Bill 1187 would require each public university to designate and develop a memorial square or plaza at its main campus in Kirk’s honor. The bill states the plaza must be in a highly visible and easily accessible location to “maximize public awareness and utilization.”
The bill would also require each plaza to include permanent signage commemorating Kirk and a statue of Kirk either sitting at a table with an empty seat across from him or standing with his wife and holding their children.
The bill states that if any student, employee or faculty member vandalizes the plaza, they would be terminated from enrollment or employment and fined for the cost of the damage.
OU Turning Point USA faculty adviser Gary Barksdale told OU Daily Friday that the student organization has already started a petition to build a statue of Kirk on the South Oval.
“I would be very proud of the University of Oklahoma if it did that,” Barksdale said, “because Charlie Kirk’s mission was going across college campuses in the United States, promoting free speech and promoting open dialogue and promoting civil discussion of important issues.”
The bill states that the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education would establish guidelines for the minimum size and configuration of the plaza based on the campus acreage, student enrollment and available space.
The bill would authorize institutions within the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to accept donations from the National Endowment for the Arts and any private, corporate or public source to fund the plazas and statues. The Legislature may appropriate donation-matching funds to encourage support for the plazas.
The bill follows a viral Sept. 12 post on the social platform X depicting an AI-generated image of a plaque reading “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Plaza” that gained over 10 million views.
Senate Bill 1188 would name Oct. 14 as “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day.” The bill states that the day would be “in remembrance of his courage and faith, to honor his extraordinary contributions to American discourse, faith, and freedom.”
Jett, along with Rep. Jim Olsen (R-Sequoyah) and Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow), also authored a resolution that would require the Legislature to recognize and honor Kirk as “a martyr for truth, faith and, the First Amendment.”
OU Marketing and Communications wrote in an email Friday that the university will follow all applicable state and federal laws if enacted.
The bills and resolution will be considered when the Legislature reconvenes on Feb. 2.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Thomas Pablo and Natalie Armour. Sophie Hemker and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
