Republican U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins has drawn widespread backlash after she called the cops because of a pro-reproductive rights chalk message written on a sidewalk outside her home.
Collins—a self-proclaimed pro-choice Republican—has come under fire from supporters of reproductive rights following the leaked Supreme Court majority opinion indicating the Court plans to overturn Roe v Wade in an upcoming ruling on Mississippi's draconian 15-week abortion ban.
As seen below, the chalk message makes no threats of any kind and isn't even worded particularly strongly.
Nonetheless, Collins called police in Bangor, Maine over what she called "defacement."
Susan Collins called 911 because someone wrote a message in chalk supporting abortion rights on the sidewalk \n\nhttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/susan-collins-police-chalk-message-abortion\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/QKDjZvobfy— Judd Legum (@Judd Legum) 1652217237
The chalk message read:
"Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA —–> vote yes, clean up your mess."
"WHPA" refers to the Women's Health Protection Act, legislation proposed in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court opinion on Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health that would codify the abortion rights Roe v Wade allowed into federal law. On Wednesday, the legislation went down to defeat in the U.S. Senate, with all Republicans --including Collins -- voting in opposition.
Collins had stated she would vote "no" on the legislation despite her professed pro-choice and pro-Roe views, because she feels it is too broad and does not allow for religious exemptions.
Collins' "mess" mentioned in the chalk message likely refers to Collins' votes to confirm Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, two of the Court's most conservative justices, even though both were widely known to be reproductive freedom foes at the time she supported them.
Both justices said in their confirmation hearings they consider abortion rights a matter of established legal precedent.
Collins claimed both men assured her in private talks they would never vote to overturn Roe—promises that have turned out to be lies, ones which Collins readily believed despite dire warnings from media, activists and her own constituents at the time.
Collins referenced these conversations in a statement following the leak that struck many as embarrassingly naive.
It read:
"If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office."
The softly-worded chalk message outside Collins' house belies the searing outrage toward the Senator, and its restraint seemed surprising even to the Bangor Police Department, whose spokesperson Wade Betters conceded the message was not threatening in the least.
Nevertheless, the Bangor Department of Public Works was summoned to wash away the message, which Collins attempted to cast as a crime of "defacement" in a statement on the matter.
"We are grateful to the Bangor police officers and the City public works employee who responded to the defacement of public property in front of our home."
On Twitter, Collins' calling the police over sidewalk chalk—which isn't even illegal in Bangor—inspired a healthy amount of mockery.
Susan Collins when someone applies chalk to a sidewalk nearby her residencepic.twitter.com/CkS4hotZ9L— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1652215829
\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about the neighborhood vandals & thugs threatening me.\u201d - Susan Collins (R-Moscow) \n\n(She actually called the cops over this chalk) pic.twitter.com/XhvU2uAUyh— Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652193570
Susan Collins: \u201cI\u2019ve wouldn\u2019t have called SWAT if they simply used white chalk. The colored chalk usage was a bridge too far.\u201dpic.twitter.com/C9TOBeEtmR— Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Hoodlum \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1652209384
This is the sidewalk chalk Susan Collins called the Bangor PD over, it says "Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA \u2192 vote yes, clean up your mess"\n\nShe called the goddamn cops. Over chalk. She's going to be responsible for murdering women, but this? Too much.\nhttps://bangordailynews.com/2022/05/09/news/bangor/pro-abortion-chalk-message-appears-on-susan-collins-bangor-sidewalk/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/aYYbQN7RdB— Matthew Cortland #ProAbortionAdoptee (@Matthew Cortland #ProAbortionAdoptee) 1652159432
Things that do NOT worry Susan Collins:\n\n* voting rights being stripped away\n* female body autonomy being stripped away\n* sitting next to people responsible for 1/6\n* attacks on marginalized communities \n\nThings that DO worry Susan Collins:\n\n* sidewalk chalkpic.twitter.com/8BXhphRrW6— \u2729\u2736 \ud835\udc9c\ud835\udcc8\ud835\udcbd\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udc52\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc54\ud835\udcbd \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udf3b\u2736\u2729 (@\u2729\u2736 \ud835\udc9c\ud835\udcc8\ud835\udcbd\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udc52\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc54\ud835\udcbd \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udf3b\u2736\u2729) 1652287873
Sen. Susan Collins Crowned \u2018Snowflake Of The Year\u2019 Over Chalk Drawing Freakout\n\n"Chalk is as lasting as Susan Collins' moral stance on anything," one critic hit back at the Maine Republican.\n\nhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/susan-collins-chalk-twitter-response_n_627b54bde4b00fbab635759f\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/FwexFAWSqR— Roshan Rinaldi (@Roshan Rinaldi) 1652271964
Susan Collins clutched her pearls and called the police because you know CHALK is scary.\nNever forget #ChalkGate2022!pic.twitter.com/CVf50QmgLK— \ud83d\udca5\u03a3 \ud83d\udc99CobaltDaisy\ud83d\udc99\u03a3\ud83d\udca5 (@\ud83d\udca5\u03a3 \ud83d\udc99CobaltDaisy\ud83d\udc99\u03a3\ud83d\udca5) 1652232410
Susan Collins called the police over an abortion-rights message written in chalk in front of her house\n\nChalk!!! not poster paint or spray paint, a chalk that could be washed off with a bucket or a hose...not \u201cdefacement\u201d by any stretch\n\n#RoeVWadeprotest #CodifyRoeNOW #Freshpic.twitter.com/mh5n6UPjoZ— Melani Taylor\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0aResister (@Melani Taylor\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0aResister) 1652273241
Susan Collins called 911 about a chalk message, written on pavement outside her home, asking her to support legislation for abortion access\n\nwhich one is the party of snowflakes again?pic.twitter.com/cWBG1C5CQL— flexghost. (@flexghost.) 1652212702
Susan Collins says this chalk in front of her house asking her to protect Women\u2019s Rights is \u201cdefacement of public property\u201d. She was so concerned, she called the police\u2026 #KarenCollinspic.twitter.com/X3mYMsQKb2— Liam Kent \ud83e\udd9e\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Liam Kent \ud83e\udd9e\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1652230523
Still blown away that Susan Collins called the police over the nicest chalk protest in history— Angry Staffer \ud83c\udf3b (@Angry Staffer \ud83c\udf3b) 1652269819
After the failure of the Women's Health Protection Act in the Senate, as many as 23 states are poised to outlaw abortion if, as expected, the leaked Supreme Court opinion is adopted in an official ruling next month and Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Several have already stated banning contraception will be their next goal.
Fortunately for Collins and her apparent chalk phobia, Maine is not among them.
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