The U.S. House is honoring Charlie Kirk. How did Kansas, Missouri lawmakers vote?
Kansas and Missouri lawmakers were divided on Friday as the U.S. House passed a resolution honoring right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after his shooting death last week.
In Missouri, the divide was along party lines, with all six Republican representatives voting in favor of the ceremonial measure. The state’s two Democratic members, U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Wesley Bell voted against it.
In Kansas, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids joined two of the state’s three Republicans in voting in favor. U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt, a Kansas Republican, was among the four Republican representatives nationwide who did not vote.
The measure, introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, passed on a vote of 310 to 58 and condemns the killing of Kirk. The 31-year-old conservative activist was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University last week, sparking a fierce backlash online.
However, in addition to denouncing his killing, the resolution also praises Kirk as a “courageous American patriot,” a devoted Christian, “who boldly lived out his faith with conviction, courage, and compassion,” and “a fierce defender of the American founding and its timeless principles of life, liberty, limited government, and individual responsibility.”
In a statement explaining his vote Friday afternoon, Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat, first condemned Kirk’s killing.
“I reject and resent the savagery of the man who killed Charlie Kirk,” said Cleaver, Kansas City’s longtime Democratic congressman. “When we resort to violence as a means of expressing opposition to another’s politics, we are actually downgrading our own. I condemn political violence in all forms and from all perpetrators, including the heinous murder of Mr. Kirk.”
However, in explaining his vote against the measure, Cleaver pointed to divisive comments the conservative activist had made.
“Mr. Kirk’s statements about African American women and other Black people demands me to reject his racial insensitivity,” Cleaver said. “Therefore, because I fundamentally disagreed with many of Mr. Kirk’s views, I voted against today’s resolution on the grounds that it lionized a legacy I cannot support.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, a Missouri Republican, touted his vote in favor of the legislation.
“I was proud to vote for this resolution honoring the life of the great @charliekirk11,” Onder wrote on social media.
How They Voted:
A yes vote means the lawmaker voted in favor of the resolution.
Kansas
Rep. Sharice Davids (D) — Yes
Rep. Ron Estes (R) — Yes
Rep. Tracey Mann (R) — Yes
Rep. Derek Schmidt (R) — Did not vote
Missouri
Rep. Mark Alford (R) — Yes
Rep. Wesley Bell (D) — No
Rep. Eric Burlison (R) — Yes
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) — No
Rep. Sam Graves (R) — Yes
Rep. Bob Onder (R) — Yes
Rep. Jason Smith (R) — Yes
Rep. Ann Wagner (R) — Yes.
