This Must Stop: TPUSA's Charlie Kirk Calls For Anti-Trans Violence "Like In The 50s/60s"

In the last year, calls for violence against transgender people have been on the rise. Increasingly, conservative leaders are more willing to make those calls. Charlie Kirk is the latest.

In recent months, conservative leaders have increasingly made explicit threats and calls for violence against transgender people and their allies. Last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene advocated "beating" transgender people "into the ground" for serving as summer camp counselors. Mark Burns, a Republican candidate for office in South Carolina, called for the "execution of LGBTQ+ allies as treasonous." Tucker Carlson excused people who made bomb threats to children's hospitals by saying the hospitals were "the bad guys." He then put up pictures and names of all the hospital board of directors. Chaya Raichik, creator of the "Libs of TikTok" account, has instigated many incidents of violence. Now Charlie Kirk, CEO of the influential right-wing organization Turning Point USA, has said that transgender people should be "dealt with the way we did in the 1950s and 60s," while anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines nodded in agreement.

Charlie Kirk is the CEO of a very influential conservative organization known as Turning Point USA. The Organization raises tens of millions of dollars every year and is a major recruitment source for candidates for office and political commentators. Candice Owens, who herself recently advocated for violence against transgender people, was a communications director for the organization.

The organization has become a major source for anti-trans policy and candidates who advocate for the removal of transgender medical care, public accommodations, and more. Representative Braxton Mitchell in Montana, author of an anti-drag bill moving through the legislature there, was a TPUSA ambassador. Representative Mazzie Boyd of Missouri who authored a drag bill and gender affirming care ban was recruited by Run Gen Z, an initiative developed at the TPUSA 2019 conference. The organization maintains talking points and academy presentations against transgender people.

Now, TPUSA’s Leader Charlie Kirk seems to call for lynching and other forms of violence against transgender people:

Erin Reed @ErinInTheMorn

Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, is openly calling for the lynching of transgender individuals. Says that trans people should be "dealt with" like men did "in the 50s and 60s" He's the latest major conservative calling for violence against us.

The 1950s and 1960s were not kind to transgender people. The standard treatments for trans people was lobotomy, shock treatment, or involuntary institutionalization. Queer people were routinely murdered and their murderers got away with it. Official policies of the 1950s included promoting “vigilant detecting” of queer people with police commissioners describing them as “a cancer in the community.” It is impossible to interpret this as anything less than a call for violence against the transgender community. The fact that anti-trans swimmer Riley Gaines nods and smiles along shows that those who oppose transgender rights, ranging from sports to public accommodations, do so with an undercurrent of glee in the thought of violence against transgender people. Charlie Kirk brought that undercurrent to the surface and made it clear for all to see it.

These calls for violence have not gone unanswered. Threats against the transgender community and our allies have materialized in a number of ways. Portions of Boston Children’s Hospital were shut down multiple times over bomb threats and threats to transgender care providers. Bomb threats shut down Kiel, Wisconsin for weeks due to an investigation into students bullying trans people. Patriot Front members were arrested and pulled out of the back of a U-Haul for planning violence at a Pride festival in Idaho. Two transgender victims were killed in Club Q. The incidents are too many to list off.

There needs to be widespread condemnation and accountability for calls for violence against the transgender community. I have seen this kind of language increasing in recent months and coming from more prominent figures in conservative circles. Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA have an enormous amount of influence within right-wing policy. The use of “groomer” slurs, dehumanization, and degrading terminology is all used to build cause for anti-trans legislation. It is also used as a dog whistle to all of the far-right vigilantes to take matters into their own hands - something Charlie Kirk seems to ask for in his interview.

Charlie Kirk is currently on tour and will be appearing at the following colleges in the next month. If you attend one of these colleges, this video may be useful to show to administrators:

1. University of California, Santa Barbara - March 1st

2. University of Kentucky - March 8th

3. University of Illinois - March 9th

4. University of California, Davis - March 14th

5. Rutgers University - March 20th

6. Louisiana State University - March 21st

7. Ohio State University - March 22nd

8. Texas Christian University - March 27th