Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to letters@bangordailynews.com
Sen. Susan Collins’ recent announcement that she had signed a petition in support of a state referendum effort pushing to ban transgender students from sports and private spaces based on their gender identity was not a one-off, as it may seem. I think the announcement was part of an overall Collins’ reelection strategy, financed and supported by right-wing billionaires like Leonard Leo, to appeal to MAGA hatemongers and homophobics.
The fact that a sitting U.S. senator is willing to pander to hate and discrimination by, it seems, appealing to hatemongers is despicable and repugnant. Exposing our young people, no matter who they are, to abject hatred and discrimination while using them as pawns in order to secure votes should be alarming and disturbing to anyone who cares about the safety and wellbeing of our children.
Jonathan Stolley
Ellsworth