R000024
Monday, March 11, 2002 10:54 AM
Fair distribution of survivor benefits
I am writing to express my outrage at the hypocritical statement of Kenneth Feinberg, the head of the September 11th Victim's Fund, on "Meet The Press" this weekend which stated that lesbian and gay survivors of victims of the September 11 attacks would be "left out of my program to the extent that their own state does not include them." Feinberg is willing to compensate the families of illegal aliens, effectively saying that simply because they are not US citizens does not mean that these people didn't lose a precious family member in this tragedy. But in the same breath, he excludes lesbian and gay US citizens from the same compassion.
Lesbian and gay people are full citizens of this country and deserve to be treated as such. One of our own, , has been lionized as a hero for his role in the crash of the jet in western Pennsylvania. But if he had a domestic partner, someone whom he would have married had the US government recognized the sanctity of his relationship, I guess that man would have to be satisfied with press clippings and sound bites, while his heterosexual peers, even the illegal aliens among them, were being compensated financially for lost wages and pain. This is horrifying.
Shame on you all, and shame on Kenneth Feinberg, John Ashcroft and George W. Bush in particular, for failing to equally and fairly honor and respect ALL the victims of this terrible tragedy.
Individual Comment
Brooklyn, NY