GOP state lawmakers who lead higher education policy panels are calling on the board governing Iowa’s public universities to immediately fire employees of those institutions who have publicly celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
State Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, who chairs the Iowa House Higher Education Committee, issued a joint statement with state Senate Education Committee Chair Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, urging the Board of Regents to take stern action to tamp down such speech.
“College campuses were once the epicenter of civil debate and respectful discourse, the very pillar of Charlie Kirk’s ethos,” the lawmakers wrote. “Now, we see through these social media posts, just how far higher education has strayed from its original mission, and how desperately we need to course correct.
“Boilerplate press releases will not solve the culture problem on our college campuses — only decisive action with a clear red line,” they wrote, adding, “Today, we are calling for any university employees who celebrated the death of their fellow American (Kirk) to be terminated immediately.”
They joined a growing crowd of Republicans who, in particular, are condemning an Iowa State University financial aid adviser’s social media comment that Kirk, as an ardent opponent of limits on gun rights, “got what was coming and I’m happy he’s rotting in hell now.”
Among those calling for her firing is U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who’s running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, and former New York Mayor and Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani posted on X that people should call Iowa State and “demand that this enabler and supporter of MURDER be immediately fired as a clear and present danger to the students and everyone around her.”
Iowa State University would not say Monday, Sept. 15, whether the woman in question is still employed there. The regents have scheduled a closed session at their Wednesday meeting to “evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered.”
Regents President Sherry Bates issued a statement saying “the Board of Regents is aware of social media posts made by employees and students following the violent and tragic death of Charlie Kir. This should not be celebrated. These posts and others like them are offensive, insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the Board of Regents or its universities. The comments are inconsistent with the board’s values to create a civil and respectful environment at our public universities.”
Employees at schools, business and other workplaces nationwide are facing consequences for similar postings on outlets like Facebook and X as others on both sides of the political aisle condemn the murder of Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of conservative youth group Turning Point USA.
In Iowa, the Oskaloosa School Board will vote Wednesday on its superintendent’s recommendation to fire an Oskaloosa High School teacher who posted “1 Nazi down” on a Facebook account after Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination.
Robert Shibley, special counsel for campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization that defends Americans’ rights to free speech and thought regardless of ideology, said the boundary between speech and employment rights is a gray area.
In most cases, employment is “at will” and employers have the right to fire workers for what they say on social media unless such action is prohibited by state law or somehow is discriminatory, Shibley said.
But in the case of public employees, including those at public universities, it becomes more complicated because the government is generally limited to disciplining people whose comments are made in connection with their official duties, he said.
Shibley said more concerning to his organization — which has defended campus free speech rights for people on both the left and right — is “the cancel culture” that has grown since the mid-2010s.
“The question has become whether we are going to be the kind of country where you can have both a job and an opinion,” he said.
Both ends of the political spectrum are guilty of such extremes, Shibley said, pointing to harsh retribution on the left against those who defended police in the killing of George Floyd or expressed support for those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol.
“It was a bad idea then and it’s going to be a bad idea now,” he said, adding, “Trying to cancel someone out is very unlikely to convince them to actually change their opinions.”
Even more chilling, he said, is the assassination of Kirk specifically to silence his participation in free debate and discussion, which will likely have a profound effect on college campuses moving forward.
“I think we’re going to see campuses become much more security conscious. It’s going to be much more difficult to post speakers like Charlie Kirk. I think some will use it, as they have in the past, as an excuse simply to not do that at all,” he said.
Another concern, he said, is that “red states and blue states” may apply different standards based on their political beliefs.
“It’s important to have the same rules apply to everybody and the same principles apply to everybody, regardless of who is speaking, because we live in a huge, diverse country with millions of people who are going to intensely disagree with at least one of your views,” he said, “and we have to have some way to live together and make decisions that are not violent.”
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Register.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa legislators call for firing university employees celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death
Reporting by Marissa Payne and Kevin Baskins, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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