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Sacramento Snapshot: Named after Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk, new California bill aims to curb political violence

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Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were 
assassinated in their home in June. Three months later, conservative 
activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah college 
event.

These and other recent harrowing instances of political violence prompted 
Assemblymember Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel, to file a bill last week 
that would add political affiliation to the list of classifications needed 
to classify a hate crime in California.

AB 1535 is dubbed the Hortman-Kirk Political Violence Prevention Act, 
defining political affiliation as “belonging to a political party, the 
endorsement of a political party or platform of a political party, or the 
endorsement of a politician or platform of a politician.”

California law already designates a hate crime as being committed because 
of the victim’s real or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or 
ethnicity, religion and/or sexual orientation, the bill noted.

And the state already offers protection for political affiliation for 
certain things, including housing rights and employment, Davies said.

The bill “is about lowering the political temperature and establishing 
strict penalties. It sets a clear boundary,” said Davies. “Looking at last 
year with the horrific murders of Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk, it was 
time that something had to be done.”

Hortman helped pass Democratic initiatives in the Minnesota statehouse, 
including free lunches for public school students, and helped break a 
budget impasse that threatened to shut down the state government last 
year.

Kirk was an ally of President Donald Trump and founded Turning Point USA, 
a student group that rallies conservatives on college campuses.

Both deaths in 2025 sparked concerns and condemnations among Democrats and 
Republicans alike about political violence in the U.S.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was 
severely injured when a man broke into his San Francisco home in 2022, 
assaulting him and demanding to see his wife. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh 
Shapiro’s home was intentionally set on fire last year while the 
Democratic chief executive and his family were inside asleep. And Trump, 
while campaigning in Pennsylvania in 2024, was injured in an assassination 
attempt.

“Our nation was founded on political freedoms. However, political violence 
is detrimental to our democracy and shouldn’t be tolerated,” said Davies.

“AB 1535 isn’t just about protecting Californians; it’s about a cultural 
reset,” she added. “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.”

The bill was introduced the first week California legislators returned to 
Sacramento for the 2026 session. A hearing for it has not yet been 
scheduled.

In other news
• Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, was also quick to introduce 
a new bill at the start of the legislative session. This one aims to 
expand human trafficking data reporting by requiring additional 
information to be recorded and published on the state’s criminal justice 
data website, Open Justice.

AB 1541 would add the number of arrests and convictions, as well as the 
number of victims of adult sex trafficking, child sex trafficking and 
labor trafficking, to be among the information recorded there.

“This bill will address critical shortages in the public reporting of 
human trafficking crimes and will give us clarity on how many individuals 
are being arrested for perpetrating these heinous crimes,” said Dixon. “In 
addition, having data regarding the number of convictions will provide a 
clear picture on how successful we are at removing the perpetrators of 
human trafficking from our streets.”

• Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, is the new Senate President pro 
Tempore. She is a former school board member who worked in higher 
education for 14 years. Limón is also the first Latina and first mother to 
serve in that leadership post, Senate Democrats noted.

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Sacramento Snapshot: Named after Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk, new California bill aims to curb political violence J D <j_d@invalid.org> - 2026-02-18 00:35 +0000

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