At a gun show near St. George, Utah, locals said they were saddened that someone in their community was being accused of killing Charlie Kirk.
Mourners honor Charlie Kirk on Utah Candlelight vigil
The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk led to vigils and gatherings across the country to honor him.
- South Utah residents of Travel Gun Show struggled to reconcile what they knew about their community with the arrest of “one of our own” in the murder of Charlie Kirk.
- People in their community are taught to treat guns and differences with respect, one said.
- Some are worried that the killing could lead to new gun control proposals, while others believe gun owners are enduring such measures.
Hurricane, Utah — The South Utah gun owners and their families who viewed a major gun show here this weekend were tormented by allegations that they shot down conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Some who went around the intersection of the West Gun Journey were afraid that such a famous killing could lead to a call for stricter gun control, but others said that armed Americans would never be particularly successful because they were so angry at this moment.
The show was held at Legacy Park three days after Kirk was murdered on the university campus in Orem, Utah, and the day after authorities announced the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who grew up not too far from the hurricane.
“We’re embarrassed,” David Martin said. He spent tens of thousands of dollars a year on guns and ammunition, and placed a “Utah Militia” patch on the protective vest he was wearing. Guns are essential in the western part of the countryside, just for safety against bears and mountain lions during camp, Martin said. However, it is surprising to him to use them for political violence in such community-oriented places.
“Utah everywhere,” he said.
“Every Yutan I spoke about is just sad,” said Martin’s wife Katrina. “It’s just heartbreaking that one of our own children did that.”
“Sad for all of America”
Martins lives in a hurricane – locals pronounce it Hal Wu Keen, the desert gateway to Zion National Park. It is a town near St. George, about 14 miles northeast of Washington, where Robinson was raised.
“It’s sad for all America,” said David Mendoza, who lived in a nearby virgin and attended a gun show. There, vendors sell a wide range of guns for recreational and self-defense, as well as T-shirts, ammunition and other gear. “What happened here in Utah was a very bad thing. Perhaps every household in Utah has a gun.”
People who grew up are taught to treat guns and differences with respect, Mendoza said, and from what he heard about Robinson’s family, it appears that was also true in his home.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox shared the horrors of his constituents to discuss his perspective in the murder of a political activist on university campus. In comments after Robinson was arrested, the governor said, “If it had to happen here that this wasn’t one of us, then someone had driven from another state, and someone had prayed that they were from another country.
“Sadly, that prayer wasn’t answered the way I wanted it to be because I thought it was safe to say, ‘Hey, we won’t do it here.’ ”
What happened in Utah suggested that many locals consider it moral and family-oriented, especially given the extraordinary impact of the Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ, based in Salt Lake City, was a state that families should reassess their methods.
“Really, after all, a family unit is about teaching kids to be decent people and respect people,” said Brendon Boshardt, who traveled to a gun show from his central Utah home in Redmond.
“It’s not a gun (I’ll kill you),” Boshardt said. “It’s the jackass behind them. We don’t have parenting.”
“No one knows how to talk” about their differences
St. George’s John Wilhelm joined hundreds of people taking part in the gun show in hopes of selling a Bolt Action .30-06 caliber hunting rifle. At 63, he no longer loses his rifle to the field to chase the elk. After all, the rifle is reportedly used by Kirk’s killer, the Moser.
“There’s no one there,” Wilhelm said. “No one wants that.”
Assassinations and other political violence are evidence that Americans need to learn how to deal with their differences more, Wilhelm said.
“No one knows how to speak,” he said he hopes there will be no backlash leading to gun restrictions, but he would not mind using mental health ratings more widely.
“I have a lot of guns in my house,” Mendoza said she was worried that the killing could cause a repulsion that would lead to gun control.
“It’s another ffin nail for the second revision,” he said.
However, Martin, the best man in the “Utah militia” stated he was not worried about the move to restrict gun rights.
“It’s not this time,” he said.
That’s because Kirk was loved by so many gun owners, Martin said, and his death led them beyond the point where they could be suppressed.
“They took one of us and we were done,” Martin said. He said that trying to limit the gun will set “Tinderbox” on fire.
