LANSING, Mich. — State Rep. Steve Frisbie today issued the following statement after the assassination of Charlie Kirk:

“I write here today with sadness in my heart. Once more violence has struck our nation, and the lone cry of a bullet has shattered a family. As a father, I am shaken. As a conservative, I am angry. And as a human, I am mortified. These actions have no place in our society and anyone who commits such heinous acts is nothing short of a coward. Only cowards hide behind a weapon when they disagree with another and only cowards engage in violence instead of debate.

We can only write so many of these statements until we feel numb from the atrocities we see daily. Yet I hope that a glimmer of light may shine through this darkness. The nation is in shock and in this shock, I pray that we begin to see each other as neighbors and friends. We are all Americans, together in this race that is life, and we need to remember that each of us have value. It doesn’t matter whether you are red or blue, all that matters is you are a human being, and we need to treat each other as such.

I pray for his wife and daughters, who now carry the weight of this loss. I pray that God gives them strength and peace in the midst of this darkness. And I call on every American to reject the rhetoric that fuels violence and to remember that free speech is sacred. Republicans are not fascists, Democrats are not communists, and one’s opinions do not warrant a death sentence. We do not kill our political opponents in this country. We do not murder those we cannot out-argue. We must return to the principles of respect, debate, and faith in God.“

Rest in peace to Charlie Kirk.

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