I have just learned that the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has taken the unilateral step to ban transgender individuals from applying for licenses that reflect their gender identity.

Gender and sex are not the same thing, and they do not always match. Gender is the socially constructed binary built upon a human’s body presentation at birth, but sometimes doctors make the decision of what to do with a body that does not conform to a shallow understanding of human dynamics and realities.

I always support our trans persons in Florida, but with these politicized, authoritarian and heavy-handed steps, I am even more supportive of individual choices and upset with our punitive government actions.

Please vote out this Florida government.

Rebecca  Andre’, Delray Beach

Expand pet lemon law

As a Florida veterinarian, I have seen many sick pets coming out of so-called shelters for years.

While many pets are relatively healthy, some have major medical issues, yet they are presented to unsuspecting, good-hearted adopters as healthy. Some are presented as young, but the exam tells a different story.

There is a wonderful law in this state that protects the pet and the adopter. It is known as the Florida Pet Lemon Law (Section 828.29). It provides for pets to be seen by a vet, vaccinated and tested for parasites and viruses.

However, it does not apply to nonprofits, which most shelters are. For years I have reached out to our legislators to propose changes in the pet lemon law to include no-profits. I get lots of promises but no action.

While the state legislature is in session, I call upon and challenge our legislators and Gov. Ron DeSantis to step forward and protect our pets and pet adopters. It is unfair not to cover all pets under the so-called lemon law. Please read the law at Myflorida.com to see your rights.

Ed Dworkin, D.V.M., Apopka

‘Kitchen table’ claptrap

Cable TV commentators have decided that if President Joe Biden loses to the twice-impeached, four-times-indicted Donald Trump, it will be because food and gas are too expensive.

They speak of  these as “kitchen table issues,” when wealthy Republican voters are motivated by a singular goal of wealth accumulation. Lower taxes, preferred carried interest and an entanglement of tax avoidance trusts, all to assure they die wealthy, are not “kitchen table” issues. They are uniquely Republican — and at the expense of working voters.

Republicans unabashedly favor tamping down wage growth and busting labor unions. Some Republican governors have resisted Medicaid for their underserved voters and have for years lied about having non-existent programs to replace Obamacare. Social Security and Medicare are perpetually on the Republican chopping block.

The ordinary Republican is motivated by social and religious issues. Rejection of abortion, gay and transgender rights, minority voting rights and other social or civil rights issues fire them up. An ordinary GOP voter can’t tell you what their party is actually willing to do to solve purported kitchen table handwringing.

How do more tax breaks and reducing social programs serve lower-income voters? If you think about it long and hard, you likely can’t come up with anything Republicans have ever done for those who are struggling for a better life.

Sheldon I. Saitlin, Boca Raton

FSU’s baseball ambassador

Mike Martin (1944-2024) was an iconic figure in college baseball, a man respected and loved throughout the game.

His record of winning the most games in the history of the sport put him at the pinnacle, and his ability to win consistently at the highest level was equally remarkable.

Mike was a tremendous ambassador for Florida State University and loved FSU with all his heart. He lit up a room with enthusiasm and energy. His insistence that his teams always play the game the right way and with class was appreciated.

College baseball has lost one of its all-time greats and we’ve lost one of our greatest Seminoles.

Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach