It’s 9/11 today, and yet it has — for the first time — been overshadowed by new horror. Yesterday, in addition to the tragic shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado, Charlie Kirk was murdered/assassinated in Utah.

I do understand why people on the left hate everything that Kirk stood for; I do too. I never paid much attention to him until yesterday, to be honest. But the more I read about his homophobic, transphobic, racist, etc. views, the more appalled I am.

However, it is never okay to murder someone. It’s just not. I find it strange that I have had to argue that point today. Political violence is chilling, and it’s the last thing the nation needs. Not to mention, it just makes a martyr of Kirk, in spite of his horrific views. So it’s both immoral and a bad tactic.

I feel horrible for Kirk’s wife and kids. And I’m sorry he didn’t get to live out his natural life. As a minister, I can’t help but believe that people can change, and Kirk might have redeemed himself one day. You never know. But again, either way, murder is wrong.

It seems obvious to me that this nation needs gun reform. It won’t be perfect, but it can only help. No other nation seems to have our issues with gun violence. What are people so afraid of? It’s common sense. It might not have made a difference in the case of Charlie Kirk, I don’t know. But it would have helped in some of the school shootings, and it’s hard to think of anything worse than not protecting our own children.