After Kirk’s murder, an entire way of doing politics is at risk

Charlie Kirk appears at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday. Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images

America may be getting too dangerous for politics.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk , President Donald Trump’s ambassador to youthful conservatives , has stirred such a sense of shock that some lawmakers are now rethinking the kind of freewheeling, outdoor campaigning that his barnstorming college tours were meant to preserve.

The risks courted by those who mount a public pedestal were laid bare a day after Kirk’s murder in Utah, a sickening capstone on 12 months of political violence .

The balance between political free association and security that every candidate must assess now risks being tilted toward restricted indoor gatherings, smaller audiences