Photo: Cristian Storto Fotografia / iStock / Getty Images
Palm Harbor, FL - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attended a 9/11 memorial ceremony Thursday morning at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens, honoring those who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
During the ceremony, DeSantis stressed the importance of teaching students in Florida schools about the events of 9/11.
He highlighted the heroism and selflessness shown by first responders and civilians on that day.
“It’s important for our kids to know that on the worst day, where the worst evil was put before us, we saw some of the best this country has to offer. We saw true heroism. We saw selflessness. We saw people run into the fire, and that is not something that happens every single day,” he said.
DeSantis also addressed the alleged shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk, who was reportedly shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.
He noted that Kirk regularly spoke on college campuses and engaged in public political discussion.
“Yesterday, we saw the assassination of a young political leader, Charlie Kirk, who I knew and many of you probably knew,” DeSantis said. “You see some of the evil that’s lurking within, and we’ve got some problems in this country. The viability of a republic depends on our ability to fight those battles in the proper arena—through debate, discussion, and voting. That response to disagreement is not to shout, to scream, or to take violent action to silence someone.”
The governor encouraged Americans to value civic discourse and honor both the memory of 9/11 victims and those who participate in public dialogue.