Dear Senator Collins

The following is an open letter in response to Senator Susan Collins(R-Maine)'s press release concerning DADT repeal that can be found here.

Dear Senator,

I do hope this letter finds you and your family in the best of happy holidays and good health. I really do. Because there's an issue that needs addressing and I'm thinking you might be the absolute best person to address it. Having been a United States Senator since 1996 and the 15th woman voted to the US Senate in your own right (per your nifty website) I know you understand questions of equality.

In this time of economic uncertainty and with unemployment at such a high level, I know you are looking for ways of allowing US citizens to not only get jobs but keep them as well, right? I mean, that's a common goal whether you have a "D" or a "R" or an "I" by your name, right? So it is striking me as a tad odd that in your press release concerning your intention to vote for the repeal of the atrocious "Don't Ask,Don't Tell" law, that you appear to put partisan politics over a question of fair equality and job retention.

I was looking for a picture of you for this open letter, you know it spruces up a weblog post, and I found the one above. And I thought, "Ya know, Senator Collins is certainly a fair person, right? And she tries to be compassionate I'm sure....I don't think she'd be willing to tell the young man above that he can't be a cop because he's black, just so her political party could score points against the President." I hope I'm right on that.

Senator Collins you and this 111th Congress have a unique opportunity to overturn bigotry in this country. To push back on the unemployment rate (as after all if a gay person is kicked out of the military they are unemployed) and quite frankly just do the right thing, politics be damned.

Don't add caveats to your vote. Do it. Vote. Now. Make a positive difference, please.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Norton, Houston,TX.

Sen. Collins or anyone else can email me at mnorton1972@gmail.com

and follow me on Twitter at @Colierrannd.