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New Bill in Ohio Could Help Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Live On
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, an Ohio state representative has an idea for how Kirk’s legacy could live on for generations to come. State Rep. Gary Click, a Republican, has introduced the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act.
According to the bill’s text, it will “permit teachers in public schools and state institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the influence of Christianity on history and culture.” The bill covers kindergarten through college.
What’s in the Bill?
Click drew a deeper connection to Kirk and his assassination while providing sponsor testimony, speaking to how such a death brought out what Click said was “a frustration of mine [that] laid dormant.”
“The farther back you go in history … our history books talked about our Christian origins, the Christian heritage here in the United States of America. But the closer we get to the present, the more we see that the philosophy—not just the philosophy—but the historic facts have been omitted. They have been left out, and history is being rewritten,” Click warned. “That leads to, I think, a lot of hate, I think it leads to violence,” he continued, speaking to how he and others were “stirred” by Kirk’s assassination.
“Charlie Kirk was known, obviously, for being a conservative. Charlie Kirk was also known for being a Christian, and Charlie often brought to light those historical facts from our history, and people didn’t like to hear that and I think that incited hate amongst some people, and that incited violence,” Click added.
The written testimony from Click went further. “Charlie was always kind but direct. He welcomed conversation, especially with those who did not agree with him. Regretfully, many reinterpret alternate views as hate and cannot tolerate an opposing view. At the core of Charlie’s beliefs and hislove for America was his avid faith. When asked what he wanted to be remembered for, he said for his courage and his faith. Charlie understood that there was a connection between the historic roots of America which are inseparable from the predominant faith of our founding fathers. That is what he was killed for,” Click wrote.
Redundancy and Other Complaints.
Throughout his remarks about the bill, Click reiterated that teachers are already allowed to teach such Christian influence.
His bill, he said when providing testimony, “does not create a new law, it clarifies the law,” pointing to comments from Gary Daniels of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. Daniels in his opponent testimony described the bill as redundant.
Click had a simple answer to Daniels’ charge. “If it’s redundant, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he offered. He spoke further to teachers being afraid as the reason why the bill is needed.
“Well, I think it is necessary,” he said about his bill, “because there are teachers” who do feel intimidated, but are too afraid to come forward. “You think somebody who’s afraid of losing their jobs is gonna come here and tell you they’re afraid of losing a job because of this? Probably not,” he pointed out, though he does expect to hear from former educators.
“It does not impose any regulations on teachers,” Click, said. “What it does is remove the invisible shackles that often hinder full transparency and the teaching of American history, We are not inviting instructors to teach doctrine or to proselytize, as some of the headlines already seem to imply. We’re simply affirming what is already in the law that exists,”
He takes particular issue with headlines categorizing the bill as a Christian one rather than a history one, as he did when speaking with The Daily Signal. When asked if the confusion “further necessitates the bill,” Click told The Daily Signal, “Yes, absolutely.”
Click revealed that he has talked to teachers. “I’ve talked to some of them, and I just know that they are concerned that if they cross the line,” they would get into trouble,” he shared, also acknowledging that “there is an animosity amongst the attorneys,” in addition to how schools and teachers “are risk averse.”
Teachers Are Being “Shackled.”
This idea about teachers being “shackled” was a prominent theme in Click’s testimony.
“I think it’s time we make sure that we just unshackle our teachers,” he continued, “and let our teachers know that it is okay to teach the facts.”
By addressing how teachers must be “unshackled,” Click also addressed what it is that his bill does not do.
“We don’t want you proselytizing. In fact, I’ve had people ask me, ‘Representative Click, let’s put the Bible back in public schools!’ I said, ‘No, that’s not the job to teach the Bible. That is the responsibility of churches, or synagogues or mosques to teach religion, but to say, these are the historical facts that made America great, that made us the most exceptional nation on the earth, are totally legitimate things to be taught.’ That’s what the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act does, is it unshackles teachers to say you can teach these things, it is legal to teach these things, it affirms what we already know to be true, and it dispels some false notions about the separation of church and state.”
Stay tuned for part two of our conversation with Click, including how those “false notions about the separation of church and state” fit into the necessity of this bill.
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