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New California bill named after Charlie Kirk, Melissa Hortman adds ‘political affiliation’ to hate crimes
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A California bill introduced last week seeks to reduce political violence by adding political affiliation to the state’s protected characteristics in order to classify it as a hate crime.
The bill, AB 1535, as first reported by the Orange County Register, is called the Hortman-Kirk Political Violence Prevention Act, and is named after former Minnesota Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who were both murdered last year.
Under existing California law, hate crimes are criminal acts committed because of a victim’s actual or perceived characteristics such as race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
AB 1535 would expand that definition to include political affiliation, defined as “the state of belonging to a political party, the endorsement of a political party or a platform of a political party, or the endorsement of a politician or a platform of a politician.”
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk were both killed in 2025. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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State Assemblymember Laurie Davies, a Republican from Laguna Niguel, introduced the bill, saying it is intended to promote a culture in which free speech is valued and protected.
“Our nation was founded on political freedoms. However, political violence is detrimental to our democracy and shouldn’t be tolerated,” Davies said. “Leaders are required to cool the temperature, not fan the flames. AB 1535 isn’t just about protecting Californians; it’s about a cultural reset. It’s a commitment to the idea that every Californian has the right to their political views without fear of being targeted by those who see them as an enemy rather than a neighbor.”
Under current state law, political affiliation is already a protected category in civil contexts such as employment or housing, but not within criminal hate crime statutes, according to Davies. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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Flowers and tributes to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk have filled Utah Valley University’s campus in the wake of his assassination on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
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“This measure ensures that our justice system recognizes political violence for exactly what it is: a hate-motivated crime,” she said.
Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in a targeted attack at their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, on June 14, 2025.
Kirk was gunned down while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, at a speaking event for Turning Point.
A Luigi Mangione supporter stands outside Federal Court in Manhattan, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2026, where a suppression hearing is underway. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
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A similar bill adding political affiliation as a protected characteristic in hate crime law was introduced in Washington in December.
Some law enforcement experts have warned that political violence is on the rise, citing high-profile attacks, including the assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and two assassination attempts against now-President Donald Trump in 2024.
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Conservation groups are pushing back against a new state mapping tool that identifies federal lands potentially available for development in Nevada.
The governor’s office, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management Nevada, unveiled the interactive map this week to make it easier to find federal land that may be available for development throughout the state and in the Las Vegas Valley.
“It is shocking to look at the map and see how many lands could potentially be sold off,” said Olivia Tanager, executive director of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter.
Tanager said she was surprised at how many federal lands were identified for disposal when she first looked at the map.
“Places like Red Rock and Sloan Canyon in Southern Nevada are what draw people to live in Southern Nevada. We cannot continue to develop right up onto the boundaries or perhaps even in these precious places,” Tanager said.
The conservation group says the mapping tool is the latest effort to treat Nevada’s public lands as a real estate inventory rather than a shared public resource.
“We know that a lot of these areas are environmentally sensitive. We know that there are endangered species on these lands,” Tanager said.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unveils interactive tool mapping federal lands available for possible development, other uses
Housing concerns
Lawmakers have proposed using federal lands to create more affordable housing. Several areas at the edges of the Vegas Valley have been identified for potential development on the mapping tool. Tanager said she does not see that as a viable solution.
“The areas on the outskirts or far outside of existing urban areas are wholly inappropriate for affordable housing. Housing that is located that far away from services will never be truly affordable,” Tanager said. “As folks have to live further and further away from resources like schools and grocery stores, transportation costs go up substantially.”
The conservation group says the valley should fill in open lots and build upward within the existing urban core instead of building outward.
“We know that sprawl and developing on the outskirts of the valley worsens air quality as well from increased transportation,” Tanager said. “We know that sprawl is incredibly water-intensive. The further out you build, the harder it is to recapture that water.”
The Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter says treating federal lands as disposable assets could set a dangerous precedent that accelerates privatization efforts and undermines the principle that public lands should remain in public hands for future generations.
Approximately 85% of Nevada’s total land area is owned by the federal government.
The state says the tool is designed to bolster information sharing about federal lands. The mapping tool is available here.
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