Letter to the Editor: Al Diamon’s ‘Susan’s Gunner’ misses the mark

Generally, Al Diamon is able to cut through the noise and get straight to the heart of an issue. However, he missed the mark in his recent column, “Politics and Other Mistakes: Susan’s Gunner.”

Senator Susan Collins has said repeatedly that Congress should pass responsible gun safety legislation, and she has voted to do so several times. Contrary to Diamon’s assertion, she voted to strengthen background checks, including a proposal by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) to require background checks for commercial transactions including those at gun shows and online. She introduced a bill to give law enforcement the tools they say they need to investigate and prosecute illegal gun transfers, as well as a bill to prevent suspected terrorists on the “No Fly List” from purchasing firearms. She supports a bill to put in place a judicial process for extreme risk protection orders to deny firearms to individuals who pose a serious threat to themselves or others. In fact, Sandy Hook Promise has recognized Sen. Collins as a champion for her “consistent support of common-sense efforts to address gun violence.”

Susan Collins is from a small-business family. She served as Maine’s Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation, as New England Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and had run for governor when she was hired by Bill Beardsley, the president of then-Husson College, to run its Center for Family Business. It’s not a stretch to imagine that it was her strong resume that qualified her for the job.

Senator Collins admires Dick Dyke who has created good jobs in Maine and contributed to many worthy causes, but the idea that he – or anyone else – “owns” her is absurd.

Kevin Kelley
Spokesman, Collins for Senator
Bangor