When Charlie Kirk sat under a white tent at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, he was doing what he always did: leaning into the friction. He was debating students on gun control, an issue that had become the cornerstone of his brand. Then, a single shot rang out. Kirk, just 31 years old, was killed by a bolt-action rifle fired from a nearby hill.
The irony was immediate and, for many, deeply uncomfortable. Only two years earlier, in the wake of the Covenant School tragedy in Nashville, Kirk had uttered the words that would eventually become his epitaph in the digital age. He called the reality of American gun violence a "prudent deal."
But if you really want to know what did Charlie Kirk say about other shootings, you have to look past the soundbites. He didn't just defend the Second Amendment; he framed mass shootings as a tragic but necessary overhead cost for liberty.
The Nashville Quote: A Prudent Deal or a Moral Failure?
In April 2023, just days after a shooter killed three children and three adults at a Christian school in Nashville, Kirk spoke at a Turning Point USA Faith event. He didn't offer the usual "thoughts and prayers" and move on. Instead, he got remarkably blunt.
He told the audience, "I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
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It was a cold-blooded calculation. To Kirk, the right to bear arms wasn't just a legal protection—it was the bedrock of all other freedoms. He argued that a society with 400 million guns would never have zero gun deaths. To him, anyone promising "zero" was selling "nonsense and drivel."
This wasn't an isolated comment. He often doubled down on the idea that the Second Amendment was the "security of a free state," a literal insurance policy against government overreach. If the price of that insurance was a certain number of annual tragedies, Kirk's public position was that Americans should pay it.
What He Said After Uvalde and Buffalo
Kirk’s reactions to other shootings, like the horrific events in Uvalde and Buffalo, followed a specific, rigid pattern. He rarely focused on the victims for long. Instead, he pivoted almost instantly to what he called "the heart of the matter."
- Mental Health and "Soullessness": After the Uvalde shooting, Kirk argued that the problem wasn't the AR-15. It was a "spiritual crisis." He often spoke about the "atomization of society," the lack of fathers in homes, and the "over-prescription of SSRIs."
- The "Good Guy with a Gun" Theory: He was a fierce critic of the police response in Uvalde. He used that failure to argue that individuals—not the state—must be responsible for their own protection.
- Targeting "Gun-Free Zones": Kirk frequently claimed that shooters specifically targeted schools and malls because they knew no one there could shoot back. He called gun-free zones "death traps."
He basically viewed every shooting as a confirmation of his existing worldview. If a shooting happened in a place with strict gun laws, he blamed the laws. If it happened in a place with lax laws, he blamed the "culture of death" or a lack of "moral guardrails."
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The Transgender Shooter Narrative
One of the more controversial things Charlie Kirk said about other shootings involved the identity of the perpetrators. During the 2023 Nashville shooting investigation, when it was revealed the shooter was transgender, Kirk leaned heavily into the cultural war.
He began questioning if "gender-affirming care" or "hormone therapies" were creating a new profile for mass shooters. He asked his audience, "Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last ten years?" When someone replied "Too many," he agreed.
In fact, seconds before he was shot in 2025, witnesses say he was engaged in a heated debate about this very topic. He was reportedly discussing the "rise of political violence" and the "instability" he believed was inherent in certain modern ideologies.
The Backlash and the Legacy
Kirk’s death triggered a firestorm that mirrored his life. Because he had said "some gun deaths are worth it," his critics were—honestly—brutal. Laura Sosh-Lightsy, an assistant dean at Middle Tennessee State University, was fired after posting that Kirk "spoke his fate into existence."
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Others, like Gabby Giffords, who survived her own shooting, took a different road. She mourned the loss of a life while pointing out that the very laws Kirk fought against might have saved him. The rifle used to kill Kirk was a bolt-action—a type often cited by activists as a "safe" or "traditional" firearm that shouldn't be banned.
Why the Conversation Still Matters
Understanding what Charlie Kirk said about other shootings helps explain the current stalemate in American politics. He wasn't just a commentator; he was a catalyst for a generation of young conservatives who view gun ownership as a non-negotiable part of their identity.
- Intent vs. Tool: Kirk firmly believed that violence stems from human intent, not the tool. He often said that if someone wants to kill, they’ll use a truck, a knife, or a bomb.
- Constitutional Absolutism: He viewed the Second Amendment as a "God-given right," meaning it existed before the government and couldn't be taken away by it.
- The Cost of Liberty: He was one of the few public figures willing to say out loud what many in the gun-rights movement believe privately: that the risk of violence is a price they are willing to accept for the right to remain armed.
Actionable Insights: Navigating the Debate
If you're trying to make sense of this polarized landscape, here are a few ways to look at the data and the rhetoric without getting lost in the noise:
- Fact-Check the "Profile": While Kirk focused on specific identities of shooters, the FBI's data on active shooters shows a much broader and more complex reality. Most shooters are cisgender males with no specific political affiliation.
- Distinguish Between Rights and Safety: Recognize that the debate is often two different conversations. One side is talking about "safety" (reducing deaths), while the other is talking about "rights" (protecting autonomy). They rarely meet in the middle because they aren't using the same metrics.
- Monitor Political Violence Trends: Kirk’s death, along with the 2024 attack on Melissa Hortman, suggests that political violence is no longer a fringe worry. It’s a systemic risk. Staying informed means looking at how rhetoric on both sides contributes to this climate.
Ultimately, Kirk's legacy isn't just the organization he built. It's the "prudent deal" he asked America to accept. Whether you think that deal is a courageous defense of freedom or a tragic disregard for human life, it remains the defining question of the American gun debate today.