Republican senator 'complains that Newtown parents made her late for dinner with Obama'
The senator for Maine reportedly made
some controversial comments about the families of the Newtown shooting
victims, specifically that a meeting with them made her 45 minutes late
for an engagement with President Obama.
On Sunday, Republican Susan Collins, 60, announced her support for the bipartisan Senate proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers.
Last week, she was apparently delayed for a meal with Mr Obama. She told Politico: 'Everybody was seated when I got there, because I spent time talking to the parents and the family members of those who were killed at Newtown.
'I told them I had a dinner with the president but that I was deliberately being late,' Collins added.
She continued: 'The Newtown families were VERY late for their meeting with me. I felt a moral obligation to talk with them. I kept the president of the United States waiting. I mean, how rude is that of me?'
Politico reports that she made 'profuse apologies' to Mr Obama, explained what had happened and that she 'just could not leave without talking to them.'
The President reportedly said : 'You made the right call. Don't worry about it.'
But the visit also had a
strong emotional effect on Collins when the three Newtown
representatives handed her pictures of the people they had lost.
Collins claimed: 'My heart grieves for those families.' The Senator and the families then discussed the Manchin-Toomey proposal for background checks on guns.
On Sunday Collins expressed her support for the bipartisan Senate proposal claiming that the plan would 'strengthen the background check system without in any way infringing on Second Amendment rights.'
But the senator added that 'it is impossible to predict at this point' what will be in a final bill.
On Sunday, Republican Susan Collins, 60, announced her support for the bipartisan Senate proposal to expand background checks for gun buyers.
Last week, she was apparently delayed for a meal with Mr Obama. She told Politico: 'Everybody was seated when I got there, because I spent time talking to the parents and the family members of those who were killed at Newtown.
Late: Maine Senator Susan Collins (center)
reportedly said that she was late to meet President Obama as she was
talking to relatives of the Newtown shooting victims
She continued: 'The Newtown families were VERY late for their meeting with me. I felt a moral obligation to talk with them. I kept the president of the United States waiting. I mean, how rude is that of me?'
Politico reports that she made 'profuse apologies' to Mr Obama, explained what had happened and that she 'just could not leave without talking to them.'
The President reportedly said : 'You made the right call. Don't worry about it.'
Somber: President Obama is pictured with family
members of children killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut, at Bradley Air National Guard Base, in April
Collins claimed: 'My heart grieves for those families.' The Senator and the families then discussed the Manchin-Toomey proposal for background checks on guns.
On Sunday Collins expressed her support for the bipartisan Senate proposal claiming that the plan would 'strengthen the background check system without in any way infringing on Second Amendment rights.'
But the senator added that 'it is impossible to predict at this point' what will be in a final bill.
