Tulsi Gabbard Honors Charlie Kirk as a Fearless Warrior for Truth and Freedom

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[00:07] Please welcome to the stage director

[00:09] Tulsi Gabbard.

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[00:20] [Applause]

[00:29] Charlie lived his life as a warrior for

[00:33] truth and for freedom. Every single day,

[00:36] choosing to step into the arena armed

[00:38] with the Constitution,

[00:40] sparring through debate on the

[00:42] battlefield of ideas, fighting for the

[00:45] heart of our democratic republic

[00:48] and the unalienable rights endowed upon

[00:51] every one of us by our creator.

[00:55] Charlie lived what our founders

[00:58] envisioned.

[00:59] Freedom. The right to speak even when we

[01:02] disagree. Freedom.

[01:05] I may not agree with what you say, but I

[01:07] will fight to defend to the death with

[01:10] my very life. Your right to speak.

[01:15] Free speech is the foundation of our

[01:17] democratic republic. We must protect it

[01:19] at all costs because without it, we'll

[01:22] be lost.

[01:25] Charlie knew this. He lived it.

[01:31] Charlie stood in the arena armed with

[01:34] superior arguments, with truth, reason,

[01:38] propelled and motivated by his love for

[01:41] God, his love for others, his love for

[01:44] our great nation.

[01:47] His words were his weapons. He slayed

[01:50] ignorance. He cut through lies and he

[01:54] woke people's minds, inspired people's

[01:57] hearts, and imparted wisdom

[02:00] every day.

[02:03] Now, for those of us who knew Charlie,

[02:04] and even those of you who may never have

[02:07] had the chance to meet him in person, we

[02:09] all know and experienced how Charlie

[02:11] spoke with a calm courage, not asking,

[02:15] "What will God do for me?" but instead

[02:18] praying, "God,

[02:20] use me for your will."

[02:23] He showed respect and compassion for

[02:26] everyone,

[02:28] even those who opposed him. And I think

[02:30] especially for those who opposed him, he

[02:32] invited them to his table or on his

[02:35] show, saying, "Let's talk."

[02:39] Sitting with Charlie here in Arizona at

[02:42] ASU last year, seeing and experiencing

[02:45] him in action was truly a sight to

[02:48] behold.

[02:50] Because in Charlie, he sincerely wanted

[02:52] people to know the truth. Because it's

[02:55] the truth that sets us free. It is the

[02:59] truth that keeps us free.

[03:10] Now, Charlie,

[03:13] he chose our schools as his arena

[03:16] because he knows that they are meant to

[03:18] teach, to train our young people to

[03:20] think critically, to debate ideas, to

[03:23] test their strength through a clash of

[03:25] reason. But too often these schools

[03:29] silence debate,

[03:31] saying words are violence and dissenting

[03:34] voices are hushed. And those who speak

[03:36] of God, those who speak the truth,

[03:40] simple objective truths like there are

[03:42] only two genders in these schools, they

[03:45] are told, "You have no voice."

[03:55] Charlie chose this arena to take these

[03:58] people headon to challenge these

[04:00] institutions, these students and

[04:02] faculty, encouraging them to come to

[04:05] speak honestly, bring your ideas, debate

[04:08] loudly and think critically.

[04:11] And Charlie did this so well. He was

[04:15] winning. So much winning.

[04:18] So much so

[04:20] that the forces of darkness, hate and

[04:22] evil were threatened by him and tried to

[04:25] silence him.

[04:28] History shows this dark pattern that

[04:30] when ideas cannot withstand scrutiny,

[04:34] whether it's the ideology of so-called

[04:36] religious fanatics or political

[04:37] fanatics, their defenders, terrified

[04:40] that their weak ideas will be exposed

[04:42] for what they are, turn to intimidation,

[04:45] censorship, and violence.

[04:48] They kill and terrorize their opponents

[04:51] hoping to silence them. But in this evil

[04:55] that we have experienced that Charlie

[04:58] face, their flawed ideology is exposed.

[05:01] Because by trying to silence Charlie,

[05:04] his voice is now louder than ever.

[05:09] His

[05:12] message

[05:14] is more powerful and impactful than

[05:17] ever. The truths that he spoke have

[05:20] spread hundfold.

[05:23] As Charlie was fearless, but where did

[05:24] his fearlessness come from? The answer

[05:27] lies in Corinth Corinthians. Therefore,

[05:30] be always of good courage and know that

[05:33] while we are at home in the body, we are

[05:36] absent from the Lord. We are of good

[05:38] courage. I say and prefer to be absent

[05:41] from the body and at home with the Lord.

[05:45] Therefore, we have as our ambition

[05:49] whether at home or absent to be pleasing

[05:52] to him.

[05:55] So our call to action is now. Every one

[05:57] of us needs to be a warrior like Charlie

[06:01] to take shelter in God to draw strength

[06:04] and fearlessness from the Lord who sits

[06:06] within every one of our hearts. to stand

[06:08] together, continue the mission that

[06:11] Charlie dedicated his life to. To

[06:12] sharpen our weapons of truth, common

[06:16] sense, and reason, to train, to study,

[06:20] learn, and to speak, exercise our

[06:23] God-given right to speak, and carry that

[06:26] torch that shines brightly because of

[06:30] God's love.

[06:32] So right now,

[06:36] if you feel

[06:38] afraid or lost, confused, not sure

[06:42] exactly what to do,

[06:45] don't be.

[06:47] God says, "Don't be afraid.

[06:50] I am with you. I will strengthen you and

[06:54] help you." And he is with us. He sits

[06:58] within every one of our hearts just

[07:00] waiting for us to choose him.

[07:03] To say as Charlie did, God

[07:07] use me for your will.

[07:11] To say, God, my life is yours. My I am

[07:14] yours. My heart is yours. Let me serve

[07:16] you.

[07:19] Now is the time for us to step into the

[07:22] arena and to stand as warriors for

[07:26] freedom and truth and fight.

[07:30] May God bless you all. We love you,

[07:33] Charlie.

[07:35] May God bless this great nation.

[07:38] Thank you.

[07:44] [Applause]

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[08:01] Please welcome to the stage Secretary

[08:04] Marco Rubio.