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PAUL DEMARCO | Guest Columnist

The assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah in the last several weeks shook the nation. The horrible act of political violence created an earthquake around the country with the outpouring of grief for Kirk and his family. But it also brought out further hate by those who cheered on his death and celebrated it on social media.

It happened right here in Alabama, with numerous posters in the state making the same terrible statements. The question is, how will Alabama leaders handle this with those who are public employees who do the same?

In neighboring Mississippi, we now know what they will do—fire those individuals from their jobs. After an employee at the University of Mississippi called Kirk a Klan member and shared a hateful social media post about his death, she was terminated for her comments. There was an employee fired at Middle Tennessee State University for also writing a despicable post about the killing of Kirk. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, it took state legislative leaders demanding that the Clemson University Board of Trustees take action regarding several professors’ atrocious comments about the murder of Kirk before they were fired. In Alabama, state Superintendent Eric Mackey has said Alabama educators could face discipline for hateful statements about Kirk’s death. However, the state’s major universities have not taken such actions despite calls to do so.

Let’s see what Alabama’s Universities do themselves when they face the same situation in the coming days. Will state leaders have the intestinal fortitude to also hold those accountable who further encourage the murder of those with political differences?

Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on X, formerly Twitter, at @Paul_DeMarco.