Ohio State Rep. Gary Click not only aims to honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy but has a passion for ensuring students are taught American history. He’s found a way to do both by sponsoring the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act. The Daily Signal met with Click to discuss the bill, during which the state representative’s passion was evident.

This is Part Two of that conversation.

A Recap

Part One focused on the nature of the bill. The bill will “permit teachers in public schools and state institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the influence of Christianity on history and culture” for kindergarten through college.

Teachers are already allowed to teach such Christian influence, though Click insists a bill is “necessary” to “unshackle” teachers.

The state representative also focused on examples from American history to further illustrate its need.

A Passion for American History

Not only did Click speak of his concern how “the historic facts have been omitted” in our classrooms, he also corrected the record.

That idea of “separation of church and state” is not only misunderstood because it’s really about protecting the church from the state, but when it comes to attribution. It was not originally Thomas Jefferson who came up with the concept, but Pastor Roger Williams. Williams drew from Isaiah 5, likening a vineyard to a church and wild grapes to the world and government.

Where Jefferson does fit in, as Click explained, is how the third president received a letter while in office from the Danbury Baptist Association, expressing concerns about religious liberty. In his letter back to the Danbury Baptist Association, Jefferson wrote that the Constitution had erected a “Wall of Separation between the church and state,” which Click points out borrowed Williams’ words.

Although Kirk’s assassination prompted this legislation, Click mentioned he had been aware of issues in education “for a long time,” which he believes goes back to the idea of deconstruction. This, he described to The Daily Signal, is when “we stop teaching the truth,” which is “partially what this bill is aimed at.” That leads to a generation not knowing the truth, and there’s teaching of “things that are not true, and the future becomes untethered from the past.” Click called this “dangerous.”

He provided examples, such as how a student believed the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Native Americans rather than to God. A teacher also wrote to him claiming the Pilgrims came to America for mercantilism rather than Christianity.

And what about how Christianity is discussed?

Click pointed out that “nobody’s afraid to teach the negative … only to teach the positive” about American history, which he linked to threats of lawsuits.

He brought up examples of negative versus positive teaching of Christianity in religion as he emphasized “it was the Christians who led the abolitionist movement.” There were also the Salem witch trials, with justices “weaponizing religion against the people.”

Click pointed out how Christians raised concerns with due process over the Salem witch trials. Twenty people died over a period of 18 months, Click referenced, also mentioning how in Europe, 500,000 people were put to death over the years. It was “the shining light of the Church,” Click offered, “that we put a stop to it” in America.

The bill and its sponsor have garnered excitement from Ohio’s College Republicans. “Rep. Click is a great servant leader of his community and his Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act is a truly important piece of legislation. Charlie Kirk’s legacy will always be defined by his faith, and by empowering those Christian ideals to be taught voluntarily in public schools and colleges, we’d be upholding the ideas of Charlie as well as the interests of thousands of God-fearing students I represent across Ohio’s campuses in my role as OCRF chairman,” Chairman Gabe Guidarini of the Ohio College Republican Federation shared with The Daily Signal.

How the Bill and Charlie Kirk Play a Further Role in Ohio

Members of the Ohio House Education Committee need to hear proponent testimony, after having heard sponsor testimony and opponent testimony. Click shared that the chair, state Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur, is supportive of the bill.

Part One of this series focused heavily on the need for teachers to be “unshackled,” Click argued, from the fear of lawsuits, as schools and teachers “are risk-averse.” That fear may live on even if the bill becomes law.

Click believes it’s more a matter of “when” than “if” opponents will sue, given how “we’re in a litigious society.”

“The bill will probably be sued, to be honest,” he acknowledged, pointing out that another bill he sponsored, the SAFE Act, which protects minors from transgender “care,” was sued, though it remains in effect on appeal. “They want to sue against anything that’s godly or that touches on God, and so they oppose anything that’s right,” he pointed out about the bill’s opponents. “So yeah, they’ll sue,” Click said. He even “anticipate[s]” it.

“At least this way we can go to bat,” Click continued, pointing out teachers will have support from Ohio state law if such a bill passes and is taken to court. “Teaching should not be illegal, and their problem is that [opponents] don’t want to … give that cover.”

Ohioans are paying attention to Kirk in other ways. State Rep. Adam Mathews recently filed a resolution to remove Judge Ted Berry of Hamilton County. Berry made disparaging remarks on Kirk over social media and then refused to step down when called to do so.

The post State Rep. Shares Passion for History With Bill Honoring Charlie Kirk appeared first on The Daily Signal.