A Utah GOP lawmaker wants a memorial build for Kirk on UVU’s campus

State Sen. Dan McCay says the monument would focus on open dialogue, but county Dems say it would exacerbate divisions.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Crime scene tape is visible where conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.

As the search continues for the man who shot and killed Charlie Kirk continued Thursday, a Utah state senator is proposing building a memorial to the conservative activist and organizer at the site of the shooting on the Utah Valley University campus.

State Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, said the idea came to him during a restless night in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.

“I couldn’t sleep last night and I was like, ‘How do we take this and make it productive?’” McCay said. “If nothing else, Charlie Kirk’s entire principle was about keeping the conversation, the dialogue, moving forward so we can avoid violence, and that resonates with me. So if there’s a way to create a memorial that celebrates that ideal, I want to pursue it.”

McCay had not spoken to UVU officials about the idea, but said he’s heard from several legislative colleagues and others who support the idea after he posted it on social media late Wednesday night, along with a crowdfunding link.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who was a friend of Kirk’s, chimed in with his support for the idea, posting on X: “Let’s make it happen.” Lee, on Thursday, also proposed a resolution in the U.S. Senate to condemn Kirk’s killing.

Other Utah Republican politicos are also on board with the idea for a Kirk memorial, including Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner, who said she wants the monument built “in record time.”

Utah County Democratic Party Chairman Darin Self said Thursday that the party condemns the violence and extends sympathies to Kirk’s family, but the focus should be on rebuilding civic trust and a sense of community.

A memorial “may satisfy immediate anger and grief, but in a hyper-polarized moment a statue risks becoming a flashpoint rather than a place of healing,” Self said. “Erecting monuments that reinforce political divisions is the easy reaction. Doing the harder work of repairing and protecting is what our democracy requires.”

McCay said he believes, to an extent, that everyone is divisive.

“I don’t think the ideal is in the division. I think the ideal is in the ability to still talk, still be friends, to be friendly, have a family, to care about one another even though we don’t see things the same way.”

On Wednesday, Kirk was appearing at a “The American Comeback Tour” event on the UVU campus, sitting under a tent and engaging with students and others who came to counter Kirk’s conservative, sometimes controversial political views, when a shot rang out.

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