Hoyer Statement on Resolution on Charlie Kirk

September 19, 2025 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement after voting on H.R. 719, the Honoring the life and legacy of Charles "Charlie" Kirk Act: "I will condemn political violence every chance I get, no matter the perpetrator or the victim. Every Member of Congress – indeed, every American – ought to do the same. That is why I voted in favor of today's bipartisan resolution condemning the murder of Charlie Kirk. "I believe the authors of this resolution were wrong to include certain language that is needlessly divisive at a time when we ought to be doing everything we can to bring people together. I did not let politics stop me from speaking out against a problem that ought to unify everyone, however. Political violence poses an existential threat to our democracy and to our people. There is only one appropriate response to tragedies like the one that befell Charlie Kirk: to turn down the temperature, to recommit ourselves to peaceful discourse, to stand up for the rule of law, and to lay down the burden of hate and division. That is what it means to live free in a democracy."