R000233
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
cc: Vice-President Dick Cheney
Attorney General John Ashcroft
Dear Mr. President,
At the sixth month commemoration of the September 11th tragedies, as a proud
Americans, I feel deeply betrayed. I feel anger like no anger I?ve ever
felt. It?s almost at the same degree of anger I have toward Osama Bin Laden,
Al Queda, and the Taliban. Our faith and belief in a nation of equality, of
one people, and renewed by the events of 9/11, was shockingly spat upon by
the remarks of the head of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund,
Kenneth Feinberg, on the March 10th telecast of NBC?s ?Meet The Press?.
To defer to state laws and dodge a political bullet is nothing less than
cowardice. It is a disgrace to the honor of heroes like ,
, and the of the airplane which hit the
Pentagon, all of whom happened to be gay. We?re sure there must be many
more.
Few states, if any, provide the same legal protection and accommodation for
same-sex partners, as they do for married heterosexual citizens. By using
this method of disqualification, it means that compensation will be denied
to these equally deserving victims. To deny equal compensation implicitly
makes the gay men and women who died, lesser kinds of heroes, lesser kinds
of victims and their loved ones.
When I hear of special accommodation and immunity being offered to illegal
aliens by Mr. Feinberg and Attorney General Ashcroft in order to extend 9/11
Fund benefits, yet see no similar effort nor accommodation being made to the
gay American legal citizens who lost a partner, I am ashamed of and angry at
this country?s leaders who perpetuate such divisive standards.
As a nation, have we not learned anything from our history, especially in
times of crisis? We have apologized and paid a symbolic compensation for the
internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. (Ironically, a second
generation Japanese-American, Minoru Yamasaki, was the architect for the
World Trade Center.) We have since recognized racial segregation in the
military during the same period, and in American society in general until
the mid-1960?s. We have established laws to protect most of our citizens
against such inequality. Would we even consider the same divisive practices
today? Apparently we do, especially when it comes to matters of sexual
orientation and determining which heroes? loved ones are worthy of
compensation.
Some would say that these early policies reflected the opinions and beliefs
of the times. Perhaps that?s true to a degree, but moreover, they are
examples of the hypocrisy we continue to see in our laws and social
behavior. What if things were reversed? Can you imagine extending 9/11 Fund
benefits only to the loved ones of homosexual victims and not to those of
heterosexual victims?
I seriously doubt that the opinions and beliefs of the American public today
would support the decision to exclude any 9/11 victim?s surviving spouse,
partner, child, or anyone who depended greatly upon the victim for financial
support or other assistance. Does this include the guy who sold him a
newspaper each day? Of course not. Does it include a life partner who shared
the rent or mortgage? Someone who is caring for a child of the victim? You
bet. Forget about the victim?s or loved one?s sexual orientation. Apply a
fair, comparable standard.
Today, my partner and I are celebrating our fourth anniversary as life
partners. I can only imagine what the victims and their loved ones felt on
September 11 and since that fateful day. I ask you, is the wife of a World
Trade Center investment broker more worthy of benefits than the 20-year
loving male partner of , the hero who died while helping to
avert a second aircraft destined to hit Washington, DC?
These are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary action and
compassion. It is a time when unity and fairness must be the just cause to
repeal, amend, or eliminate inequitable laws and policies which divide and
exclude.
If we are truly a nation founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness and if we truly believe in justice and equality for all
of our citizens, we must act accordingly. Please seize this opportunity to
correct a wrong for the gay victims of 9/11, and to renew the fight to end
discrimination and unequal treatment of America?s gay citizens.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment