R002777
Wednesday, March 27, 2002 10:09 PM
Exclusion of Gays and Lesbians
As someone born and raised in New York City, I watched in horror as
the towers I watched being built from Xaverian High School in
Brooklyn crumbled.
As an American I was angered at the senselessness of the destruction
and the extinguishing of countless thousands of innocent lives.
Like many, my sense of helplessness, my inability to embrace those
who lost a loved one was somewhat mitigated by contributing to the
9/11 Fund.
As a gay man, I am ashamed to have contributed to a Fund that has
so blatantly and with such transparently flimsy justification chosen to
exclude gay men and lesbians from receiving compensation from the
Fund solely because they are gay men and lesbians who as partners
have lost a loved one.
While I certainly do not begrudge those who will benefit from the fund,
I will certainly never again contribute to any such "general relief" fund
administered by a governmental agency like the DOJ. The actions of
the special master have taken one tragedy and added another to it.
Individual Comment
San Diego, CA