A003407
Wednesday, December 19, 2001 2:41 PM
Equal relief for survivors
December 19, 2001
Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick,
Please imagine yourself in the position of many: Having to prove your
relationship in a country that does not accept your love, legally ignoring
and invalidating your bond. The pain of losing your partner is great, no
matter what gender that person was. The pain of having to prove against
the odds that that your love was ever real or as valid as that of a
heterosexual couple allowed to legally marry is difficult. Even with
domestic partner registrations, many gay and lesbian couples do not pursue
this lesser venue--though they would be married if allowed. Consider the
pain of these people with some degree of honor that would not be swayed by
fearful religious intolerances. Honoring such judgement and "religious
morality" is what motivated the terror behind these acts to begin with.
Please do not let that continue to be a force in our world.
I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights
movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people
without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the
September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual
orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has
committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination.
As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you
apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle
of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those
who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children,
without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New
York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on
a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that
anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities
and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need."
Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks.
Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had
mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the
distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive
policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an
important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real
justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families -
impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with
dignity and equality.
Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you
about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11
attacks have equal access to the relief fund.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Denver, CO