R000539
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:47 PM
911 fund
To Whom It May Concern:
Kenneth Feinberg on NBC's Meet The Press, March 10, 2002:
"[Gays and lesbians are] left out of my program to the extent
that their own state doesn't include them.
"If your state law makes
you eligible, I will honor state law. If it doesn't, I go
with the state."
What a fascinating statement this is. Especially given that Feinberg had just
gotten through saying this:
"The attorney general, in
consultation with Immigration, etc., undocumented aliens who
come forward, the families will not suffer any consequences.
They are covered by this program.
I'm not a politician, but I have to guess that there are also state laws
about illegal aliens and their rights.
In short, the 911 fund will break the law for illegal aliens, but simply
can't when it comes to homosexuals.
Is this not what is being said here? I'm horrified by this. Given that one of
the heroes aboard Flight 93 was a gay man, and that it's now thought that he
and others may have saved the Capitol Building, shouldn't we include all
people in the fund set up to help the afflicted? If had a significant other, that person would not be helped by the fund. But if a
non-taxpaying person, a non-citizen was affected, that person would be taken
care of?
Is this what America is about? By the way, I'm not saying that your ruling on
illegal aliens is incorrect. I'm merely showing the hypocrisy of this
statement.
What have we learned from Sept. 11? Have we not learned the value of all
life? Haven't we learned that the America we love and cherish includes great
diversity, and that hatred of any group, in its ugliest form, is deadly?
I urge you to reconsider this policy.
Respectfully,
Individual Comment