Collins showed her courage on recent gun bill  Lost in the week
of Boston-bombing chaos was a gutsy announcement by Maine U.S.
Sen. Susan Collins that she supported extending background
checks to people buying guns at gun shows and privately
advertised sales.  The bill, titled the Safe Communities, Safe
Schools Act of 2013, was ultimately pulled when a variety of
less-courageous senators decided they could not stand the
pressure from the National Rifle Association and other groups.
That failure came despite polls showing a majority of Americans
supported the measure.  Collins was one of only four Republicans
to support the act, and the only Republican from such a rural
state. She was also the only one up for re-election in 2014.
The bill was shamelessly misrepresented by gun groups and even
members of the Senate in the days before an expected vote.  It
would have extended background checks to gun shows and private
party sales involving an advertisement.  Yet, some insisted on
repeating several outright lies