by Rep. McIntyre
On November 5, 2024, the people of Maine’s House District 18 elected me to carry their voices to Augusta. On December 4, 2024, I swore an oath, one of many I have taken in my life. In those first months, I gave myself a simple mandate: learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could. So, I defaulted to the mechanism that has always served me best. I listened.
On March 20, 2025, during a contentious floor debate, I rose for the first time to address the full House chamber.
“Mr. Speaker, I am going on the record to say I’m going to have a difficult time trying to do an important job with people that possess ‘hate’ in their vernacular. Without trying to impugn anyone’s character or question motives, I am concerned I may be surrounded by too many people with hate in their hearts, and I do not know what to do.”
The chamber fell silent, if only for a moment.
None of us possesses a proverbial crystal ball. But through lived experience, many of us learn to recognize patterns in society that, left unchecked, lead to tragic outcomes. Perhaps I felt compelled to write this because of the final door I knocked yesterday, or because I have reflected on what has unfolded in our state and nation since that admittedly nerve-wracking first speech.
I am a protector by nature. Perhaps this is my naïve attempt to protect us from a tragedy born of our collective failure to restore basic civility toward one another.
Colleagues of mine in Augusta, from both parties, have faced horrific threats against themselves and their families. These threats have come from individuals hiding behind the perceived anonymity of social media, through telephonic bomb threats, “doxxing,” and, most concerning, reported trespassing at legislators’ homes.
Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home. Charlie Kirk was murdered on a college campus in Utah. Roughly three weeks ago, there was yet another attempt on the life of our President. This week, the day before our Vice President visited Maine, a social media post stated: “cue the sniper.”
This must stop before we allow ourselves to descend even further into a place from which we may not recover.
Whether you are steadfast in faith or only beginning that journey, I humbly suggest reading Romans 12:9 in its entirety:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
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