A001229
Thursday, December 06, 2001 8:00 PM
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to say that I firmly believe compensation and financial
relief for vicitims of the Sept. 11th terrorist acts should go to the
partners and non-biological children of the gay and lesbian Americans
killed in the attacks. Fairness in providing financial relief to
survivors of these deceased tax-paying Americans is the right thing to
do. Arguments against doing so are divisive and unfair to the memory
of all of the victims of Sept. 11. The U.S. political system is based
on equal rights for all citizens. Discrimination in death after such a
terrible tragedy is not the right message to send to the survivors of
the deceased or to Americans at large. It would go against the grain
of all tenets of basic fairness and equality.
Finally, as has been publicized in the media, at least one of the
passengers who rushed the hijackers on the Pennsylvania plane (i.e.,
) was a gay man. He gave the last moments of his life to
save other Americans. And in this matter, he was successful in
preventing an even larger tragedy and even more deaths. It is only
fitting that legacy also be honored in such an act of
basic fairness as that involved in providing relief to survivors and
not discriminating among the survivors.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment