OREM, Utah — It was a solemn start to the Orem City Council meeting Tuesday night, nearly two weeks after Charlie Kirk was killed on Sept. 10.
“After we had our last council meeting, I had no idea what was going to happen in our city in the following weeks,” said Mayor David Young.
Young started by reflecting on the vigil the city had after it happened.
“That was probably one of the saddest feelings I've ever had in my life, to look down on that crowd of about 3,000 people and see their faces and see what they were going through,” Young said.
He also spoke about Kirk's life and the impact on the community.
“As a mayor of Orem, I carry the sobering responsibility of presiding over the city where Charlie's life was tragically cut short,” Young said. "Many of us slept no more than three hours a night, driven by the urgency to see justice done and to bring peace to a grieving community.”
During public comment, residents talked about how they are afraid people will no longer want to live or go to school in Orem unless officials engage in public dialogue.
“Orem shouldn't be in denial about the infamy and stigma that are now associated with it, unfortunately,” one resident said. "Our community has a choice. We can set years memorializing a tragedy only in sorrow and stigma, or we can memorialize by greatly moving forward, using that moment as a call to action.”
Some residents found more ways to memorialize Kirk.
“Charlie Kirk began his mortal journey in 1993 in Illinois, and tragically, it ended here in Orem,” another resident said. "It is my sincere hope and prayer that Orem will do all we can to commemorate Charlie Kirk by naming our city clock Charlie.”
Young said while the city is not used to national attention, they hope to carry out Kirk’s message, especially on family.
“We are more familiar with parades and festivals, with concerts and Friday night football than with national headlines on violence. To have Charlie's life end here cut us deeply, precisely because it felt so out of place in a city like ours, and yet perhaps it's fitting that his life and his example are now linked to a community that defines itself by family,” Young said.
