It is ironic, but not surprising, that Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a college campus. After all, that’s where he so frequently met with students to debate political issues in his calm, friendly and open way. He wanted to convince, not coerce. He wanted to share his insights, not mock those who thought differently.

It was also not surprising because our colleges and campuses have become hotbeds of intolerance — especially against conservatives.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan group that monitors and advocates for free speech on campuses, reports that there have been at least 14 attempts to disrupt Kirk’s appearances since 2020. Earlier this year, hundreds of protestors at Florida State University and San Francisco State tried but failed to drown out the young conservative.

Incredibly, a petition was circulated trying to block his final appearance, at which he was killed, at Utah Valley University. What a tragedy that the effort failed. FIRE reports that Kirk was the third most frequently targeted speaker behind conservatives Milo Yiannopoulos and Ben Shapiro. 

Kirk’s appeal was successful, with Turning Point USA, the organization he founded, becoming one of the greatest political movements for young people of all time.

That’s what killed him. Had he not been effective, had he not attracted hundreds of thousands of........

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