Astonishing that Pence wants to give Trump a free pass | Letters

I read with disbelief that former Vice President Mike Pence suggested on Fox News that prosecuting former President Donald Trump would be “terribly divisive for the country.”

Pence, who was a prime target of the seditionists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, thinks laying direct blame for the attack at Trump’s feet would be divisive?

The Republican Party clearly has a huge Donald problem. They could have dealt with this problem by convicting him in the Senate — either or both times when he was impeached in the House — but they did not.

So, they left it to the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, comprised of both Democrats and Republicans, to lay out in clear details how Trump was derelict in his duty as commander in chief. This is something most Republicans seem unable to accept.

Trump cannot be allowed to ever again be near the levers of power in our federal government. If Pence thinks prosecuting Trump would be divisive, imagine what would happen if he wins the GOP nomination in 2024.

James V. Gruber, Washington, Warren County

Persecuted transgender kids need more sanctuaries

We have refugees in our own country. I am not talking about people fleeing war-torn countries on another continent. I am talking about Americans. The Vice News video called “Families of Trans Kids Are Seeking Sanctuary” is heartbreaking.

The video, available on YouTube, shows how certain families with transgender children make the awful decision to leave relatives, friends and their homes behind. The parents move to other states to get the gender-affirming health care their child needs, which their home states have banned or criminalized for minors. These include Texas, Arizona and Florida.

In the video, a parent of a trans youth from Arizona says: “This idea of states rights vs. federal protections… like we should be wary of what that actually means because that has been used to marginalized people since the beginning of this country. … We saw it with the indigenous people, we saw it with enslaved people, with migrant youth at the border. It is terrifying.”

Another mom of a trans teen in Texas says: “Because my grandparents were Holocaust survivors because my grandfather fought in the resistance, my grandmother survived Auschwitz, that language of calling on everyday citizens and mandated reporters to report families with trans youth to the authorities felt eerily reminiscent of that directive from the Nazis to report Jewish families to the authorities. This is white Christian nationalism. This is fascism.”

Only three states fully protect families of trans kids from extradition, Connecticut, California and Massachusetts. Join me in demanding that New Jersey legislators protect families of trans children from persecution, and be on the list of states that care about trans lives.

Maria Eva Dorigo, Montclair

Outstanding teachers may not test well

On Dec. 16, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that will no longer require potential student educators to pass the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), a controversial, expensive test, in order to teach permanently in the state. This test became a requirement in 2014 and was considered burdensome by Murphy and by the New Jersey Education Association.

As a retired teacher, I believe that no test can adequately determine who will be our outstanding educators. Outstanding educators teach from the heart as well as the mind.

Please keep in mind the following quote: “The mediocre teacher tells; the good teacher explains; the excellent teacher demonstrates; the outstanding teacher inspires.”

Joseph Wardy, Rockaway

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