President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Randi Weingarten put out a press release on Thursday arguing that public schools teachers — individuals who are charged with influencing young minds and whose salaries are paid for by taxpayers — should not be fired “for their opinions” praising a political assassination. She also ironically called for finding ways to “de-escalate” despite promoting her book just days after 31-year-old Kirk’s assassination, in which she compares conservatives to “fascists,” “authoritarians,” and “Nazis.”
“Acts of violence and hate must be condemned, always. They are antithetical to democracy and the values we try to instill as teachers. Last week, anyone with a social media feed — including children — witnessed a devastating tragedy, a horrific act of political violence, that has traumatized the nation. Since then, teachers and many others we represent across the country have tried to deal with the effects of that trauma as it is playing out in classrooms, campuses, caregiving sites, and other settings,” she said.
“Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and former presidents rightly recognized this moment as an inflection point, a time not just to denounce the Kirk killing as the political violence that it was, but to find a way to come together and to de-escalate,” she continued. “The current administration, unfortunately, has not. And some are weaponizing this moment.”
Weingarten continued by stating that while “no one should celebrate another person’s murder… using this tragedy to encourage the doxxing, censorship, and firing of people for their opinions — including educators’ private opinions shared during their personal time — is wrong.”
“Conservatives, too, are warning against going down this dangerous road. They know this sends the absolute wrong message to chill speech — one of the most important freedoms in our country,” she claimed. “Americans must be able to exercise their First Amendment rights in their personal lives, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with them. None of us who values freedom should ever want to relinquish that right.”
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“We once again are calling for an end to the hate and the smears. We must find ways to tone down the rhetoric and disagree civilly. As the framers envisioned, education is the path to civil debate and open inquiry — and teachers promote these founding principles of our nation every day in their classrooms,” she added. “Let’s recognize the hard work they do, particularly in the wake of this tragedy and so many others we’ve faced as a nation, to assuage students’ trauma and create safe and welcoming environments where every student can succeed.”
“Let’s denounce political violence, find that exit ramp, find ways to de-escalate — and let’s do it without eroding constitutional rights,” she concluded.
Teachers across the country have been fired or put on leave for posting to social media celebrating Kirk’s death (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). Some teachers have disparaged Kirk to students, with one allegedly calling him a “terrible person” in class. Many parents have expressed concerns about teachers who celebrated the assassination of a prominent Christian conservative having access to children who come from families of various faith and political backgrounds.
RELATED: ‘Charlie’s Murderers’ Website Exposes Leftists Cheering the Assassination of Charlie Kirk
Weingarten was notably one of the primary forces pushing the federal government to keep schools closed during the pandemic, which has resulted in catastrophic learning losses. She regularly smears concerned parents and conservatives as fascists for cracking down on DEI materials, gender ideology indoctrination, and pornography in schools.
The AFT, along with the National Education Association (NEA), has dumped a combined $43.5 million into left-wing groups since 2022, according to a watchdog report.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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