News/Commentary

Florida legislator files bill requiring colleges to name street after Charlie Kirk or risk loss of funding

October 8, 2025 | | Print Article

A red state lawmaker proposed a way to honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy at the same institutions the conservative frequented while adding a severe penalty for noncompliance.

Since the young husband and father was assassinated on campus at Utah Valley University on September 10, many have endeavored to find a fitting way to pay tribute to a career of commonsense outreach cut short. While some have sought to carry on the torch and others have proposed statues, Florida state Rep. Kevin Steele (R) filed legislation that would require colleges across the Sunshine State to rename specific roads or face financial consequences.

House Bill 113, which would take effect immediately were it to pass and be signed into law, seeks to require state university and Florida College System institutions to “redesignate specified roads or portions of roads to certain names relating to Charlie James Kirk within a specified time period.”

Should the schools fail to comply with the law if passed, state funds would be “withheld for any university or institution that fails to redesignate a road or portion of a roadway within such time period.”

Of course, the bill didn’t leave the decision process up to the schools so that they might comply by renaming some off-the-beaten-path block on campus. Instead, it specified the exact road or portion of road of prominence at each of the schools, such as the University of South Florida’s USF Alumni Drive, the University of Central Florida’s Gemini Boulevard South, Florida State University’s Chieftain Way, and the University of Florida’s Stadium Road.

Naturally, the aim to honor Kirk was met with pushback from the left as Florida state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who was among a group of Democratic Party lawmakers that attempted to exercise “oversight” of Alligator Alcatraz, took to social media to lament the legislation.

“This is clearly designed to illicit intense reactions from all sides, but it does reinforce the importance of getting involved in your local & state government,” she posted in part with a reminder that committee work had already begun ahead of the next legislative session in January.

ADVERTISEMENT

Steele’s proposal followed a successful effort in Lake County, Florida, where County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini secured a 5-0 vote to name a road after the Christian patriot.

“Lake County is now the 1st local government in the nation to name a road after the great @charliekirk11,” wrote Sabatini on social media before adding, “Hoping more counties & cities across the country follow our lead! FOR CHARLIE.”

While numerous murals had been painted around the country in honor of Kirk, some institutions of higher learning in Florida were expected to get statues on their campuses. This included the New College of Florida, which proposed a statue as a show of its commitment “to defend and fight for free speech and civil discourse in American life,” and Ave Maria University, which was expected to install a sculpture of Kirk with Jesus Christ by Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz.

“My hope with the sculpture is that it gives some dignity to the human life of Charlie and to all of us,” Schmalz told the Catholic News Agency. “We are slowly moving away from this dignity in culture today … We are in a culture of nihilism, and our secular society has to be challenged. If we are in a culture war, we have to fight it with culture.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Kevin Haggerty
Latest posts by Kevin Haggerty (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles