Maine has a large community of gun owners — mostly hunting enthusiasts. But the vast majority of Mainers support sensible gun regulations — including a ban on military-style assault rifles. Unfortunately, our senior senator in Washington — Susan Collins — will NEVER, EVER support such legislation. Why? Because her most loyal supporter and benefactor over the years is a prominent manufacturer of such weapons.
The reason is simple: Collins is totally owned by a rich guy who makes guns for a living. His name is Richard Dyke, and he’s spent a lot of money over the decades supporting Collins’ political endeavors, reviving her career when it faltered and making sure he has a pawn in place to see that the weapons he manufactures remain legal.
Dyer realized early on that Susan Collins could help him achieve his dream of supplying assault weapons to the world He backed her when she first ran for governor and lost. Then he hired her to run his Richard E. Dyke Center for Family Business at Husson University. When Susan Collins ran for the US Senate in 1996 Dyer was her biggest financial backer because of her “pro-gun stands – including her support for overturning the ban on certain assault weapons.”
At the time, [Dyke} owned Bushmaster Firearms in Windham, a company that made semiautomatic firearms (the same kind that was later used in multiple sniper murders in Washington, D.C.), and Dyke would have liked to get into the business of selling fully automatic weapons, too. Maine Times once described Dyke as “Gun dealer to the world,” noting that he shipped weapons everywhere from “Sri Lanka to Syria,” although Dyke was quick to note that he couldn’t legally market firearms to individuals overseas, just to repressive governments.
I should also add that Adam Lanza, 20, used an AR-15-style rifle, a .223-caliber Bushmaster, to kill 27 people — his mother, 20 students and six teachers — in Newtown, Conn., before killing himself.
Dyke eventually pocketed tens of $millions when he sold Bushmaster. But he missed the excitement of selling instruments of mass killing and founded Windham Weaponry, recently named as manufacturing one of the Top Ten Best AR-15s of 2019. Of course, Susan Collins was the guest of honor at the Grand Opening of her friend’s new venture. She used the occasion to speak a few words of praise for her loyal benefactor:
“Dick’s personal story is so heartwarming,” Collins is quoted as saying. “Through sheer determination, smarts and hard work, he has made an extraordinary life. I so admire that! He didn’t come from family advantages, but did it the old fashioned way. He has been enormously successful but has never forgotten his roots.
No doubt Dyke (and his fellow gun manufacturers) are pouring money into Susan Collins’ reelection campaign.