Chair’s Corner: Violence Has No Place in Our Democracy

On Sunday, September 14th, I joined Glenna Milberg for This Week in South Florida alongside my Republican counterpart. The segment was meant to focus on something critically important: toning down the divisive, polarizing, and all too often dehumanizing rhetoric that has become pervasive in our politics, especially as political violence escalates across the country.

That's why I invited my counterpart to join me in a joint statement condemning political violence and inflammatory rhetoric. Because words matter. Words can save lives, or they can end them.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF CHAIR KELLEY ON THIS WEEK IN SOUTH FLORIDA

We must be honest: Democrats, at every level, have consistently condemned violence, whether it was the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, the assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and attempted assassination of State Senator John Hoffman, the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, or the targeting of Gabby Giffords and so many others. Here in Miami-Dade, we have spoken out each and every time. Unfortunately, our Republican counterparts have not done the same. After Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman's assassination, after the attempt on Senator Hoffman's life, after repeated acts of right-wing extremism, there has been silence-or worse, inflammatory statements that only add fuel to the fire.

Let's be clear: Charlie Kirk said many things I deeply disagreed with, but disagreement never justifies violence. His death, like every other act of political violence, is a tragedy. Gun violence does not discriminate by party; it threatens all of us. That is why it is outrageous that, on the very day of the shootings in Utah and Colorado, Republicans in Tallahassee were cheering on open carry and their gun tax holiday. These reckless policies put more guns in the hands of dangerous people in a state that doesn't even require a permit to own one.

We need leadership, not silence. We need accountability, not excuses. As Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox reminded us this week, "This is our moment. Do we escalate, or do we find an off-ramp?" some may take issue with quoting Cox because he is a Republican and said he was hoping the shooter was someone from another country

I believe the answer is clear. Now more than ever, we need unity, not just as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents, but as human beings. Our community members who fled war and persecution in the countries they were born in, know that it always starts with words, and ends with violence. If we don't change course, history will hold us accountable.

This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue. It is about dignity, safety, and the future we all want for our children. A poor Democrat and a poor Republican face the same rent, the same bills, the same anxieties about their families' futures. We are not each other's enemies-no matter how much those in power want us to believe we are.

So I call on every one of us: condemn political violence in all its forms. De-escalate your language. Hold leaders accountable when they cross the line. And let's focus our discourse on values and policy-not misinformation, disinformation, or hate.

Violence has no place in our society. And that must include our politics.

Thank you.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF CHAIR KELLEY ON THIS WEEK IN SOUTH FLORIDA