A003460
Wednesday, December 19, 2001 3:22 PM
Relief for all victims
December 19, 2001
Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick,
As you consider rules for administering benifits under the September 11
Victims Relief Fund, I ask that you include 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."
I strongly believe that this is a just a fair
method of determining who should receive compensation. Compensation should
NOT be determined based on the beliefs or strictures of a particular
religous group or segment of society. Unlike the Talaban, Iran or Saudi
Arabia we are an open society and must take a broad non-sectarian view when
establishing official government policy.
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.
Individual Comment
Robbinsville, NJ