Driver’s license change backed
3/23/2013I appreciate your call on the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to adopt a uniform policy on driver’s licenses for immigrants, including people who have been approved for lawful presence in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (“Driving legally, safely,” editorial, March 7).
I am an attorney who works with immigrants-rights groups. DACA grants a renewable two-year period of lawful presence in the United States to undocumented immigrants who meet requirements of age, residency, physical presence, and education.
DACA is only one form of deferred action. Other forms have been in use by the federal government since the 1970s. The Ohio BMV grants licenses to other applicants who are not U.S. citizens by reviewing their documentation issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The Ohio BMV’s current policy grants licenses to lawfully present immigrants. DACA recipients are lawfully present immigrants, and should not be treated differently from others. It is imperative that the Ohio BMV establish a uniform policy for all immigrants throughout the state.
MONA RAFEEQ
Springfield Township
County inspects other food sites
The writer of the March 8 Readers’ Forum letter “Supermarkets inspected too?” asked why supermarkets were not inspected and those results not reported in The Blade.
There are about 1,500 supermarkets, vegetable markets, convenience stores, carryouts, gas stations, and similar places throughout Lucas County. All of these locations are visited and inspected by county health department inspectors on a regular basis.
The Blade decides which inspection data it wants to publish. However, all inspections are public record and available on request. If a location fails to maintain a certain level of health standards, it will not be allowed to stay open to the public.
LARRY VASKO
Deputy Commissioner Toledo-Lucas County Health Department
North Erie Street
Unwanted babies would get a home
A letter writer asked whether pro-lifers would adopt or help provide for unwanted babies (“Overturning ‘Roe’ leads to problems,” Readers’ Forum, Feb. 5). I say yes.
Pro-lifers of various denominations, as well as those in secular groups, adopt children, devote time, and donate money to provide services to women in crisis. Many of these services are provided through abortion alternative centers without charge.
When the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling legalized abortion, activists were quick to suggest advantages to society. There would be less child abuse and neglect if only wanted children were born, and women would be free to make decisions without depending on men.
As a retired professional who worked in the mental-health field and in schools for 30 years, I observed that neither of these goals has been realized.
Well-designed, reviewed, and published studies report an increased risk of mental-health problems for women who have had an abortion compared to the general population of women. It is not the pro-choice side that provides services for these women, but pro-life agencies and professionals throughout the country.
Who really cares about women?
CAROL TYSON
Bowling Green