VETO MAKES NO SENSE!
Dear King Angus,
I certainly agree that the success of the schools today is largely due to the fine teaching
staff. That is one reason why I find it hard to believe you disrespect them so deeply. Over the
years, you have paid them peanuts, played with their pensions and cut their programs, and now
you insult their character.
Frankly, I don't find 0.2 of 1% a terribly compelling statistic. What other legislative action
have you ever taken on such a small percentage? When you add the number of molesters who
actually have fingerprints on file, the number becomes even more insignificant. A certain
percentage of child sexual assault is homosexual in nature, but I don't see you clamoring to
fingerprint all homosexuals "because one child is worth it". You probably believe that would be
discrimination. As a matter of fact, so do I. The difference between us is that I realize that
picking on teachers is just as discriminatory and you don't.
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I know what it does to a person. I still live with
the effects of it. I have five children of my own and I don't ever want one of them to go
through that. So let me put this pseudo concern of yours toward one child to rest right now. If
you really cared about child sexual abuse you would spend the fingerprinting money you intend to
legislate on DHS, child education programs, and better ways of keeping track of real criminals,
not innocent teachers. You would legislate stricter penalties even for first time offenders and
lock repeaters away for life. Last month a woman kidnapped a baby from a hospital here in Maine.
It was the second time she did this. She was sentenced to 60 days in prison. Only 60 Days! Even
Donna Strickland, from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault admits that she backed this
fingerprinting law because it was all she could get.
It should have been enough that all teachers already submitted willingly to Maine criminal
background checks, which don't require fingerprints. Do you think they spend their summers
travelling the country, molesting children, being charged and fingerprinted and then return
here in the fall. How many times does one person need to be checked out? You want them to do
it every five years. Please! They are all going to change their names and SS numbers! If a
teacher does not leave a school system, surely the administrator knows who they are and that
they have not committed a crime. If you want to be sure of names, just ask for college
transcripts. They come right from the school and the names can't be changed. If the name on the
transcript doesn't match, then maybe you need to check further. That is the key after all, good
checking. The administrator needs to be responsible in checking out backgrounds, references and
recommendations. Asking the right questions just might lead to the right answers. Perhaps we
should be more concerned about helping children than we are about fielding lawsuits. Making it
a criminal act for an administrator to pass along someone who is a risk to children would be a
good idea too. I can't help but be concerned about administrators relying too heavily on these
fingerprints, and letting offenders in through the huge holes they won't cover. Do we have any
idea whether or not fingerprints have made a difference in any of those other states that use
them? Do they have 0 percentage of school related abuse?
On the issue of constitutionality, it is my experience that every government cause can be called
constitutional temporarily. In the early 50's, many states declared it constitutional to
forcibly sterilize young men and women whom the state psychiatrist deemed of unfit intelligence
to bear children. They were afraid of a whole nation of "imbeciles". It was done for the good of
us all. Every time there is a paranoid panic caused by fear mongers, the government uses it to
get foolish laws passed like this fingerprinting business. By the way, a friend of mine called
the DOE wondering about volunteers in schools. They told her that eventually volunteers would
also be printed. I called to confirm it and was told that they may decide to expand the law to
include volunteers. Where does it stop, Angus? When will we all be safe from every danger? I
know, let's make everybody in Maine be fingerprinted. That's really the only way to be
nondiscriminatory.
All stakeholders obviously weren't included in this decision in 1997. No one ever asked the
employees themselves. A representative of the MEA admitted to me that endorsing this law in
1997 was a mistake. I have already said that Donna Strickland was just glad to get anything in
the way of legislation for her cause, which just goes to show how much you really are concerned
about children. Many other citizens also believe that this law is ridiculous. I found 60 of
them in one week. By next year's legislative session, we'll have many more. Unfortunately, that
will be too late for some of our teachers.
The fact that 34 other states use fingerprinting is irrelevant. Like my mother used to say,
" If all your friends jump off a cliff, are you going to jump too?" Just because a media
inspired panic has caused other states to do this doesn't mean it's a good idea. None of those
states are anywhere near us geographically. The other New England states either don't have any
law or print only new hires. We should take the road less traveled and go the way of Kansas and
Nebraska. They rejected fingerprinting.
The Maine government does seem to have a long love affair with fingerprints. I can't help but
wonder how printing children made them safe. I believe that practice was declared
unconstitutional,* and that is why it was stopped. You were printed but you had a choice. These
teachers don't have a real choice. Their careers are already established, their pensions and
livelihoods threatened. Perhaps if you had given them a choice they all would have done it. At
least then they would still have had self respect.
Maybe you didn't intend for this law to be an accusation, but it is one. Since I have been
vocal in the newspaper, I have had many teachers thank me for standing up for them. They feel
like they are mistrusted and held suspect. They are distancing themselves from their students
because they are afraid of being accused of inappropriate behavior. You have tainted them. Now
the public has joined in the cry. People write the newspaper and say the teachers who have
opposed this law must have something to hide and that we will be better off if they do quit.
Do you think it's a coincidence that the Christian Coalition chose this time to send warnings
to school districts saying that homosexual teachers are more likely to abuse children? You
provided them with the opening to do that.
How dare you accuse us of wanting to thrust this law on others! We wanted full repeal of this
law. We still do. The only reason we were willing to make this compromise this year was to save
the jobs of the people who will lose their certification now. They will leave this year. You are
so willing to accept responsibility for that one child down the road. Well accept this
responsibility. You have damaged the teachers of Maine. You have even driven at least 54 of
them away. You, alone, have done this when you vetoed that bill. You are responsible!
As if that is not a high enough price to pay for this unnecessary procedure, you want the people
of Maine to pay 3.5 million dollars for you to carry off this politically correct farce. What a
waste of money! One person who wrote me said that this "makes the U.S. military's $5000 toilet
seats look like a blue light special. If you gave that money to DHS, they could save busloads of
children", who are being abused right now while we are wasting our time on this foolishness. Why
don't you try looking into their eyes, Angus? If I hear that catch all one-child speech one
more
time I'm going to vomit! It is an empty, hollow statement that means nothing! Your actions
don't match your words. You could be saving children, and women, with programs that help many
people, but you haven't done that. Instead, you chose to make a move that will look good on your
political resume, and that might cover you in liability cases.
Now you have the nerve to ask the teachers to bow before you, give up their convictions, and
submit themselves to whatever indignity you throw at them next time. Did you even try to meet
with these teachers? Did you listen to their objections and concerns? Have you seen the good
ideas that they have for combating sexual abuse, both in and out of school?
No, you haven't. You preferred to speak with other politicians and professional lobbyists.
Teachers have lost their good reputations, and their jobs and pensions. Children will lose
some of their best teachers and protectors. Education in Maine will suffer. But, you won, at
least for now. I hope you enjoy your victory.
(letter sent by Linda Meadows to Governor King following his veto of the New Hires Only Bill in April 2000)
* I have found out that the child fingerprinting law was not declared unconstitutional, but was
repealed by the legislature because in the 70's more citizens became aware of civil rights
issues and were uncomfortable with the law. It looks like we need to wake up again! LM