Three Florida jurisdictions have rejected proposals to rename streets after conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, whom Republicans have lionized as a martyr since his fatal shooting at Utah Valley University on September 10.
Since Kirk’s death, conservatives have blamed left-wing rhetoric for fueling the kind of political violence that claimed his life, and his funeral became a galvanizing moment for conservatives, many of whom vowed to rededicate themselves to right-wing causes.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have cited Kirk’s death as justification for targeting those they claim oppose free speech — a move critics call a pretext for cracking down on left-wing groups and their allies.
At the local level, some conservative politicians have sought to “virtue-signal” by proposing to rename streets after Kirk — even in places with no ties to him.
In Escambia County — a Gulf Coast region that includes the city of Pensacola — County Commissioner Mike Kohler proposed renaming North 65th Avenue “Charlie Kirk Way” or “Turning Point USA Road.” But the idea sparked opposition from dozens of residents, including homeowners, educators, clergy, and civil rights advocates, at a recent commission meeting, reports Newsweek.
“To name a street after him because you agree with his ideology is wrong,” the Rev. Paul Blackmon of the First Baptist Church of Ferry Pass told commissioners. Paraphrasing Kirk’s controversial remarks about DEI and the qualifications of Black pilots, Blackmon added, “Is this the kind of ideology we as a community want to embrace? I don’t think so.”
“It’s right where Escambia High School is. And that goes back to the race riots that I lived through back in the early ’70s,” added community activist Dianne Krumel. “And for them to do something like this, for me, it’s like pulling a scab off a wound that has healed…. It’s almost like a slap in the face and insult to the Black community.”
Kohler said he hadn’t intended to offend the Black community and called for a broader discussion on political violence and how to honor public figures in ways that unify rather than divide. Commissioner Lumon May then moved to strike the renaming proposal from the agenda, which the board unanimously approved.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Florida, on the state’s east coast, the city council voted down a proposal to rename Cypress Avenue as Charlie Kirk Lane reports FOX affiliate WOFL.
Melbourne Vice Mayor David Neuman and Mayor Paul Alfrey supported the renaming, while other council members worried that it would deter businesses from investing in the area and stir division.
“Charlie Kirk didn’t even know where Brevard County was,” City Council Member Mimi Hanley noted.
In Clearwater, on Florida’s west coast, City Council member Ryan Cotton proposed renaming downtown’s Court Street as “Charlie Kirk Way.” He introduced the measure as a nod to First Amendment rights, but none of his colleagues seconded the motion to debate it, reports Florida Politics.
Dozens of residents had signed up to speak during public comment, but were initially told they couldn’t because the motion hadn’t been seconded. After loud protests from the audience, Mayor Bruce Rector relented and allowed them to speak.
Most speakers — during more than an hour of public comments — opposed Cotton’s proposal. Several grew emotional, sharing personal stories of racist vitriol, misogynistic rhetoric, and other harmful tropes they said Kirk had perpetuated while alive.
Jennifer Griffin, citing Kirk’s past comments about DEI and the qualifications of Black people in positions of authority, accused Cotton of “deifying white supremacy” by attempting to elevate Kirk. “And do you want White supremacy to reign here in Clearwater? I ask you, I ask you,” she said.
But not every jurisdiction has been opposed. In conservative Lake County, in central Florida, Commissioner Anthony Sabatini — an anti-LGBTQ Republican and drag show opponent who has previously run for Congress — introduced a resolution to name a stretch of highway after Kirk.
The proposal passed unanimously, 5-0, after two and a half hours of contentious debate in which some residents voiced opposition, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Sabatini, never one to shy from the spotlight, took to social media on October 1 to boast about the move.
“Our Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway signs are up!” he wrote on X. “Lake County, FL is now the 1st local government in the nation to name a road after the great Charlie Kirk — every city & county in America should follow our lead.”
SJ Joslin, a nonbinary wildlife biologist with the National Park Service, has been fired after joining six others -- including environmental activist and drag queen Pattie Gonia -- in hanging a 55-by-35-foot transgender Pride flag from Yosemite National Park's El Capitan rock formation. The flag, which flew for about two hours on May 20, drew national attention, reports Them.
Hired in 2021 to lead Yosemite's Big Wall Bats Program -- which studies how climbers may spread fungal infections among native bats -- Joslin later became the park's wildlife data scientist. They say they were officially terminated on August 12 in a letter from acting deputy superintendent Danika Globokar.
Nguyen Huong Giang, a transgender Vietnamese reality TV star, has been chosen to represent Vietnam at the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, becoming the country's first transgender contestant. Miss Universe Vietnam confirmed the historic selection in an Instagram post.
"The Miss Universe Vietnam Organization has made a special decision: to handpick an outstanding representative, someone who embodies feminine beauty, intelligence, confidence, resilience, and above all, a strong heart that never stops striving," the Instagram caption reads.
Social conservatives are claiming vindication for their views after Robin Westman, the 23-year-old behind the August 27 mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, was identified as transgender by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in an X post.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, Westman fired dozens of rounds into the church during a morning Mass attended by students from the affiliated Annunciation Catholic School, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, as reported by The Associated Press.
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