Displaying items by tag: Utah

On 10 September, at Utah Valley University, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a Turning Point USA event. He was speaking to a crowd as part of his ‘American Comeback Tour’ when a single shot struck him in the neck, with eyewitnesses saying the bullet came from a rooftop position. A manhunt is ongoing; authorities have recovered a high-powered rifle from nearby woods, released images of a ‘person of interest’, and offered a reward for tips. Remarks from public officials, including Utah’s governor, have characterised the incident as a political assassination. President Trump said that rhetoric from the ‘radical left’ had contributed to the shooting. He promised to find those responsible for political violence, as well as the ‘organisations that fund it and support it’. He has ordered flags to be hung at half-mast in his memory. The authorities are doing everything they can to find the shooter, but so far without success.

Under a new Utah law that gives parents the right to challenge or report materials considered indecent, one parent wants the Bible removed from Davis School District, for its ‘pornographic’ content. If a book includes descriptions of sexual acts it must be immediately removed from school shelves. The parent sent an eight-page document to the school board stating, ‘Get this PORN out of our schools’, and quoted offensive Bible passages describing rape, incest, sex, and nudity. The district has removed 33 books from schools due to previous requests. Parents can also ask their child’s school to restrict a student from checking out certain titles. This parent wants the Bible completely removed because the Holy Book has ‘no serious value for minors’. The First Liberty Institute referred the review committee to surveys. One statistic established that 98% of English teachers said students who do not know the Bible are at a disadvantage when studying literature.