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 EXCERPTS
FROM THE GOVERNOR’S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
January 24, 2000
“I’ve introduced and acknowledged several
people in the gallery tonight...but if you look up
there once again, you’ll see 12 empty seats,
representing 12 people—9 women and 3 children—who
I can’t introduce to you tonight. For they
are people in Maine who died last year—died
as victims of domestic violence. With all our progress
in so many areas for too many of our citizens, almost
4,000 reported in 1998—mostly women and children—day
to day life is a living hell of fear and intimidation,
fear of the monstrous violence that takes place behind
closed doors and is no respecter of geography or
social position.
We can pass laws, add judges and DAs—and we
will—but this scourge will not pass until we
decide once and for all as a people that it is not
acceptable, cool, cute, or a symbol of macho power
to beat up on women or children. If you think back
20 years, we came to a similar point with driving
drunk and we toughened the laws, but we also just
plain stopped tolerating it. And so tonight, let’s
start that process of change—first by committing
ourselves to enforce the law—in my view, the
rule should be zero tolerance—abuse of women
and children in Maine will not be tolerated and will
be prosecuted.
 But laws can only be the start—the change has
to be cultural—in our hearts—that violence
is unacceptable, especially in our homes, and we
won’t stand by and let it happen. We all have
to get involved. I’m directing the Commissioners
of Labor; Human Services; Education; Corrections;
Mental Health Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse
Services; and Public Safety to develop along with
the Judicial Branch; the Attorney General; and the
Commission on Domestic Abuse, a coordinated community
response and report back to me and the 120th Legislature
plans to attack what I today proclaim as Maine’s
Public Enemy Number 1—violence against women
and children.”
—Angus King
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