A000179
Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:34 AM
Inclusivity
Please take note of the many Americans who are want to be reassured that the
Victim's Compensation Fund is going to cover not just "traditional"
families, but also those gay and lesbian families who lost loved ones during
the attacks of September 11th. The President has spoken repeatedly of
bringing the nation together and of taking care of each other, and this is
the best possible way to demonstrate that at a time of incomprehensible
grief, the federal government is not going to start making judgments about
the way people live their lives.
A lost breadwinner is a lost breadwinner, whether they are black or white,
man or woman, straight or gay, married or co-habiting. Provided
demonstrable evidence is available of co-dependence, be it a mortgage or
lease or joint bank statements/credit cards, or less formal evidence, for
not all of us merge our financial affairs with those we share our lives
with, then the bereaved individual deserves support from this fund to the
same degree as a "traditional wife and two kids" who lost a husband and
Father.
The appointment of a democrat has already gone a long way to ease the fears
of those who suspected that AG Ashcroft would exclude all but married
individuals from the fund - I hope very much that the new administrator of
the fund will be as inclusive as possible in determining eligibility.
Thank you.
Individual Comment
Tucson, AZ