It was with dismay that I read Steve Collins’ Sept. 16 column, “Charlie Kirk was wrong about Maine.” I lived in Maine from 2001 to 2018 and still have family who live in Maine. I travel to Maine, often. It is clear to anyone being honest that the quality of life in Maine is declining.

Collins could have used his column to encourage free speech on this issue. Instead, he used it to intentionally dehumanize millions who may believe in traditional marriage or are against abortion as “less than model Americans” by being “anti-gay or anti-woman.”  By doing so, Mr. Collins is encouraging the next Tyler Robinson. 

I was 15 years old when Ronald Reagan was shot. My father hated Reagan. As I arrived home from school, my father told me to pray for President Reagan. I said, “… but you hate Reagan.” My father responded, “This is the United States. We don’t do what other countries do; we argue, we discuss, we read, and we vote. We don’t kill.”

I want that America back. Do Mr. Collins and the Maine Trust for Local News? 

Kathleen Mahoney
Cumberland, Va.