1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

I just learned, via KGW, that our Governor plans to honor Charlie Kirk this Sunday by lowering all flags at state public institutions to half-staff. While I condemn his killing, and I condemn political violence, this is a terrible decision. Why will this be done to honor a private citizen whose organization targeted professors of history and biology, encouraging their doxxing and firing; who advocated the biblical practice of stoning persons to death for those who are LGBTQIA+; and who stated that gun deaths were a fair price to pay for an unregulated approach to the Second Amendment? Did we offer a similar honor for the Hortmans in Minnesota, who were killed by a gunman targeting Democratic politicians, or did I miss that? Governor Kotek's proclamation will make no one safer, adds a glossy veneer of legitimacy to Mr. Kirk's projects, and will not appease the calls for further violence coming from extremist right-wing sources. I am deeply disappointed in our Governor's choice, and wonder why it was made.