Still no action to honor Charlie Kirk

By John Labriola - Nearly 10 months ago, Charlie Kirk was murdered by an LGBT extremist for expressing his Christian beliefs while answering students' questions on a university campus.

The assassination shocked the nation and prompted President Donald Trump to award Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom for his courage. Many communities around the country – including Sumter, Marion, Hernando, Lake, Collier, Manatee and Walton counties in Florida – also honored Kirk by naming roads after him, and more Florida counties are moving to declare Oct. 14 the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance in honor of his birthday, including Gilchrist County, which also plans a week-long library display of Kirk's books.

But because of leftist political pressure, Citrus County, which at least on paper is overwhelmingly conservative, has so far avoided honoring Kirk in any way.

Last October, the Citrus County Library Advisory Board (LAB) rejected a motion by board member Rhys Campbell to create a temporary Charlie Kirk book display. The board argued Kirk was too "political" after a mob of hateful leftists slandered him and said he deserved to be assassinated. A week later, the Citrus County Commission began moving to direct staff to draft a new library display policy to clarify what displays are allowed, but eight months later, no policy has emerged.

The frustration with the county's lack of action spilled over again at last week's LAB meeting, when several residents, including Citrus County Commission candidate Jennifer Grogan, urged the board to reverse its earlier decision.

"Charlie Kirk died for our First Amendment rights," Grogan said. "We should honor that." 

Lala Sanders of Inverness agreed.

"It's weird to me. We live in a community that's very conservative. So many communities around us [are honoring Kirk]. Why not us? What's holding you back?" she asked. 

But LAB Chairman Justin Strickland said the board needs to continue waiting for the county commission to finalize its display policy before taking any action, adding the commission put the LAB in a "sticky situation" by taking so long. Library Director Adam Chang said Community Services Director Eric Head should be completing the policy soon and submitting it to the commission for approval. 

The Citrus Crusader thanks Jennifer Grogan for lending her voice to honoring Charlie Kirk. 

Grogan, who owns a small business and helps run a ministry, has been a strong voice for conservative family values in the District 4 race against incumbent Rebecca Bays and local educator Holli Herndon. Grogan also spoke out at a recent county commission meeting against a proposed data center in Holder Industrial Park shortly before Deltona Corporation, the site's owner, withdrew its application for the center.


The Crusader strongly endorses JENNIFER GROGAN. 

The election is Aug. 18 and will be open to all registered voters in Citrus County. Early voting begins Aug. 7.

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