GOP-backed free speech resolution sparks partisan clash over Charlie Kirk, Malcolm X
Democrats fail to add Malcolm X language to resolution honoring conservative activist
TOPEKA, Kan. --- A Republican-sponsored resolution designating a day honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk drew sharp partisan debate on the Kansas House floor Monday, with Democrats offering a series of amendments --- including one to add language recognizing Malcolm X --- that were defeated largely along party lines.
Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin, D-De Soto, first moved to amend SCR 1615 by inserting the word "debate" into the measure, but the motion failed 35-83 on a roll call vote. Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, then offered a broader amendment that would have inserted references to Malcolm X's legacy, citing his founding of the Muslim Mosque, Inc., and the Organization of Afro-American Unity, his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965, and his speeches at universities including Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Howard.
Rep. Megan Steele, R-Leavenworth, challenged the germaneness of Carr's amendment. The Rules Chair ruled it germane, but the amendment still failed 33-82 on a roll call vote, with Republicans holding firm. The resolution, which cites Section 11 of the Kansas Bill of Rights and its language on the responsibility not to abuse free speech, was then adopted.
The vote exposed a familiar fault line: Republicans used their supermajority to advance a resolution aligned with conservative media figures, while Democrats used the amendment process to force debate over whose free speech legacy Kansas should honor. The measure now goes to the Senate.
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