I strongly urge Sen. Susan Collins to oppose the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

This issue goes above adherence to party ties. As a society, we are in a moment of taking sexual harassment and assault seriously for the first time in history. To ignore accusations and confirm Kavanaugh would not only degrade the courts, but send the message loud and clear that men need not be held accountable for their actions, and that the voices of women need not be listened to.

That is not the code people live by here in Maine. That is not the message I believe the U.S. Senate should be bringing to the nation and the world.

Sen. Collins must not let Kavanaugh’s nomination go through; the damage to be done by it is far too vast. Maine will not stand for this level of ignorance simply to toe the party line. Maine is a swing state — a state of independence — but mostly a state of respect.

Sen. Collins should do the respectable thing.

Corey Dilts, Sumner