WATCH: Lawmakers wrestle with how to approach hateful political rhetoric in wake of Kirk assassination

In the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination a debate about political rhetoric and its impact on contemporary spates of political violence has taken hold on Capitol Hill and across the country While both Republicans and Democrats have condemned political violence of all kinds their views vary on how much inflammatory political rhetoric plays a role A few Republicans have accused the left's rhetoric of fostering an assassination beliefs on the left while Democrats have accused Republicans of attacks on free speech One member of Congress Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N Y attempted to steer the conversation towards gun control as opposed to rhetoric as the cause for the increase in political violence This isn't just about what happened to Charlie Kirk At the same time his tragic killing was happening three kids were getting shot in school and that was one or two weeks after another couple of kids were getting shot in church at mass at a Catholic school Ocasio-Cortez explained EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK'S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICSBut GOP firebrand Rep Nancy Mace R-S C did not mince words about those who continue to foment hatred for conservatives with inflammatory rhetoric We need to shame these people out of polite society shame them out of existence They need to be fired from their jobs They are putting lives in danger Mace stated They are denying that they're celebrating the political assassination and murder of Charlie Kirk but they're liars They're lying through their teeth Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called on others to turn down the heat in the wake of Kirk's assassination Americans from all walks of life have been facing repercussions over their decision to mock or praise Kirk's death including K- teaching personnel college professors healthcare professionals political pundits writers and a list of other professionals from various sectors and major companies such as the law firm Perkins Coie the company behind the New York Stock Exchange NASDAQ and Office Depot among others FOLLOWING KIRK S ASSASSINATION LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL SITUATION 'VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS'Rep Ritchie Torres D-N Y reported that everyone should have the right to speak freely otherwise America's democratic tradition could be threatened Look there's a limit to what Congress can do because you know we have the First Amendment which protects all forms of speech including hate speech but we should have a lifestyle of condemning any rhetoric that glorifies violence I see violence as the downfall of American democracy Torres disclosed We all should have the right to speak freely to think freely without fear of harassment or intimidation or violence And once we lose the ability to speak freely in the masses square then democracy as we know it has come to an end Rep Eric Swalwell D-Calif suggested feasible remedies Congress could take to help reduce inflammatory rhetoric and its promising impact on violence CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP You have to look at the role that social media companies play in allowing violent rhetoric to be on their sites And what more can we do so that law enforcement can see these attacks sooner Swalwell appealed I wait and stand ready to learn where there are signs that were missed by law enforcement Because if that's the occurrence we have to do better because the temperature is only increasing