As a national divide deepened over last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Republican Kane County Board member David Young’s comments blaming Democrats and those who identify in the LGBTQ+ community have garnered local criticism from both sides of the aisle.

In four committee meetings this week, Young, R-Plato Township, claimed that people who identify as transgender are to blame for multiple recent shootings, a major conservative talking point voiced by many, including President Donald Trump, since Kirk’s death.

“The Democratic Party embraces this LGBTQ+ group, including a lot of people here on this Kane County Board,” Young said. “They embrace the culture of death. They embrace evil. I want to know when – when – will this group, this evil group, be denounced by any leader of the Democratic Party.”

His comments were met with some sharp rebuke, including by some residents who argued his claims contributed to harmful and divisive falsehoods.

Young repeated his message during public comments at the Energy and Environmental and Jobs committees on Friday and at the Public Health Committee on Wednesday.

During Friday’s Jobs Committee meeting, Young added that no one higher up in government such as Gov. JB Pritzker has “taken a stance against this senseless evil. It has to be called out.”

Among several who countered Young were Geneva resident Patricia Miller, who spoke at Thursday’s Public Service Committee.

Miller said Young’s comment on Friday “was demeaning, hateful and filled to the brim with fallacies and propaganda.”

Miller cited statistics from the Gun Violence Archive for 2018 to 2025 where seven of the 4,147 mass shootings in the U.S. were transgender or nonbinary perpetrators.

“That represents 0.017% of all incidents,” Miller said. “That leaves over 4,100 mass shootings that involved cisgender [straight] individuals, the majority of whom are white men.”

Miller also questioned why Young did not appear to have the same public reaction when the late Minnesota state rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, her husband Mark Hortman and their dog, Gilbert, were assassinated in their home on June 14.

Several members of the public also called him out with emails, Young said.

‘No excuse for violence’

Others said Young’s comments made them feel unsafe.

Batavia resident Cana Clark said, “I struggle to feel safe where some of the people in charge think I’m part of a culture of death.”

Jaxson Diamond, a transgender adult and local clinical psychologist, had a friend read a statement in response to Young’s comments. In the statement, Diamond wondered what to say “to convince you all board members ... of my humanity as a transgender person.”

“Should I tell you all that I pay my taxes?” according to Jaxson’s statement. “That I love birdwatching and my favorite season is fall? Is there anything I can say that would convince you of my humanity and of those in the queer and transgender community with me?”

Board Members Michael Linder, D-St. Charles and Mavis Bates, D-Aurora, also countered Young’s comments.

Linder described himself as a sixth-generation St. Charles resident – and a gay man.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered,” Linder said. “Charlie Kirk was a man, a flawed man, who was racist, misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic. His death is a tragedy, but I don’t believe he should be taken up as a martyr.”

Bates said she believes Young’s comments are part of a far-right conservative “war on trans people” and to deflect criticism from gun control advocates.

“Mass shooters are overwhelmingly straight men,” Bates said, citing statistics from The Violence Project that 97% of mass shootings are committed by men.

“There is no wave of LGBTQ+ or trans violence,” Bates said.

GOP, Democrats agree - on this

Leaders of both the Kane County GOP and Democrats said they disagreed with Young’s comments.

“No matter who they are, we condemn violence,” Kane Democratic Chairman Mark Guethle said. “Democrats are strongly opposed to any political violence, no matter who does it. We need to be able to discuss without having any violence.”

Guethle, who is also president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association, said they put out a news release the day Kirk was shot.

“Let me be perfectly clear: nothing justifies the horrific violence we saw today,” Guethle said in the release. ”While we may never have agreed with Charlie Kirk, there is never an excuse for violence.”

Kane GOP Chairman Andro Lerario said he also disagreed with Young’s comments.

“Stop the damn labels already,” Lerario said. “It does not matter who does it – it needs to stop.“

Lerario questioned the sanity of someone who could plan to shoot someone.

“We should be able to come together and condemn violence as a whole,” Lerario said. “We need to be able to come together and talk to each other.”

Pritzker also publicly extended his sympathy to Kirk’s family, condemned the shooting and political violence.

Young responded to his critics at Thursday’s meeting, saying he was just coming forward with what he believes are facts.

“When you come up here and say I have all of this hate – I’m feeling nothing but hate from you guys. So, what I’m bringing here are the facts,” Young said. “That wasn’t what I was going to talk about today, but everyone showed up and decided they were going to start throwing stones at me.”