Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs turned down proposals for a new state license plate featuring Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. Governor Katie Hobbs said the license plate proposal would not 'bring people together'. ' The suggested license plate, known as the 'Charlie Kirk memorial' plate, featured a photo of Kirk with his fist raised alongside the TPUSA logo in front of the American flag, with the words 'For Charlie' below the license number.
According to the proposal SB 1439, the legislation would have authorized an optional specialty license plate recognizing Charlie Kirk and supporting civic engagement efforts. According to the legislation, $17 of the $25 plate fee would be designated as an annual donation to the Conservative Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund. The recipient of the Conservative Grassroots Network Special Plate Fund was not specifically named in the legislation.
Charlie Kirk's assassination is tragic and a horrifying act of violence. In America, we resolve our political differences at the ballot box. No matter who it targets, political violence puts us all in harm's way and damages our sacred democratic institutions.
The bill noted that the funds must be allocated to a non-profit founded in 2012 that aims to 'restore traditional values,' has a 'grassroots activist network' on high school and college campuses, and helps college students with voter registration and absentee ballots. Turning Point USA was founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012. Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus in Utah on September 10.
Hobbs' decision to veto the plate caused outrage among Republican lawmakers who blasted it as 'grotesque partisanship'. Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman, who co-sponsored the bill, criticized Hobbs' decision, saying she couldn't find the human decency to put her far-Left extremism aside. Hoffman stated, 'Even in the wake of a global civil rights leader — an Arizona resident and her own constituent — being assassinated in broad daylight for his defense of the First Amendment, Hobbs couldn't find the human decency to put her far-Left extremism aside simply to allow those who wish to honor him to do so.
I will continue working toward solutions that bring people together, but this bill falls short of that standard by inserting politics into a function of government that should remain nonpartisan.
' In Florida, several roads have been renamed after Charlie Kirk, including one in Miami-Dade County set to become 'Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue' and a stretch of road in Collier County designated 'Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway'. Last week, the Florida House passed a bill designating every October 14 a [incomplete in source]. The exact nature of the bill passed by the Florida House regarding October 14 remains unclear.
How widespread the support or opposition to the license plate proposal is among Arizona residents is not known.