Live & Let Live: Faith, Freedom, and Personal Choice

Live & Let Live: Faith, Freedom, and Personal Choice
Questioner:
“Hey Mr. Kirk, thanks for coming out tonight. I’ve got a quick question. Until about five years ago, when gay marriage was legalized nationwide, the conservative movement was explicitly pro–traditional family. Now, both you and your organization seem to support what I would call an anti-Christian, immoral lifestyle like homosexuality and transsexuality — even going so far as to invite drag queens like Lady Gaga to your events.

It seems to me that conservatives now just believe whatever liberals believed five years ago. Right now, there’s a push by the left to normalize pedophilia through things like child drag queen shows and by rebranding pedophiles as ‘minor-attracted persons.’ So five years from now, will you be promoting child drag queen shows? Will child abuse become part of the conservative platform?”

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Charlie Kirk:
“That’s a slippery slope fallacy if I’ve ever seen one. First of all, I’ve never invited a drag queen to any Turning Point USA event. Lady Gaga showed up once, I took a picture, and she walked away — that’s it.

Secondly, let me ask you: are you a Trump supporter? Yes? Well, President Trump hosted events with gay conservatives. He accepted support from Peter Thiel, Dave Rubin, and others. Do you think he should return their money or exclude them from the conservative movement?

You see, my position is clear. I’m a Christian first, then an American, then a constitutional conservative. I believe, biblically, marriage is one man and one woman. That’s my faith and theology. But I also do not believe in saying there’s no place for gay people in the conservative movement.

The conservative movement is about conserving the American family, liberty, freedom, the Constitution, and our history. If you say someone can’t be part of it simply because of their personal life, then you’re not actually conserving those values.

Let me be very clear: Jesus Christ spoke with everyone. He dined with tax collectors, prostitutes, and people society rejected. Being Christian means holding firm in your beliefs, but also showing patience, kindness, and love. So if you say there’s something inherently wrong with even communicating or associating with people who make different personal choices than you, then you, sir, are not a conservative. Thank you.”