Erika Kirk said she still supports the Second Amendment despite her husband, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, being shot and killed earlier this year.
The widowed 37-year-old added that she believes her late husband’s death was “not a gun problem.” Kirk made the comments at The New York Times’ Dealbook Conference Wednesday, where she blamed political divisions for motivating her husband’s killer.
“What I’ve realized through all of this is that you can have individuals that will always resort to violence,” she said. “And what I’m afraid of is that we are living in a day and age where they think violence is the solution to them not wanting to hear a different point of view,” she said.
“That’s not a gun problem, that’s a human – deeply human – problem,” she continued. “That is a soul problem.”
She also reiterated her support for the Second Amendment, even though her husband was killed in an act of gun violence.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated on the campus of Utah Valley University on September 10, while debating students for his American Comeback tour.
The influencer and podcaster was fatally shot through the neck, while answering a question about gun violence.
One student asked, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
Kirk’s responded by saying, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Seconds later, the influencer was struck by a bullet.
A huge manhunt was launched to find his killer, resulting in the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. The 22-year-old has not yet entered a plea to the aggravated murder charge.
Erika Kirk publicly forgave her husband’s killer at her husband’s memorial. Speaking at the New York Times event, she explained that she did so in order to make sure she was not “bound to evil.”
“It’s not because you’re weak, it’s not because you think what the assassin did was correct,” Kirk explained. “That’s the exact opposite. Forgiveness is… for those of you who’ve been wronged, you know what it feels like to forgive someone.
“And in a way, where it frees you from a poison, and it frees you to be able to think clearly and have a moment where your heart is free and you’re not bound to evil.”
Donald Trump, who was one of the 90,000 people that attended Kirk’s memorial event, said that, unlike the Turning Point USA founder or his wife, he did “hate” his opponents.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponent,” he joked.
Trump also blamed “radical left” politics for causing Kirk’s death, although the ideology of the person responsible for shooting the podcaster remains unknown.
Erika Kirk became the CEO of her husband’s organization which has seen a surge in membership since his death.
Over 54,000 students contacted Turning Point USA in the week after Kirk’s assassination, hoping to join the right-wing activist group.
