R000753
Thursday, March 14, 2002 11:33 AM
Gay Partners of Sept. 11th Victims
I understand that you are hesitant to deal with the realities that
surviving gay partners from 9/11 may present but instead of just
outright denying their needs because some of them had been "married"
(for all intents and purposes) for some time apparently, some
creative thinking may be required.
Instead of just denying them access to aid, across the board, at
least require proof of "interdependency" (mortgage, apartment lease,
joint loans, car leases,etc.). It just doesn't seem right to
de-value their deceased partners by excluding them from the aid
funds. No one excluded when they were gathering "troops" to storm the cabin! No discrimination there!
For all the tragedy we all experienced on Sept. 11th, we came away
from the devastation, a stronger nation united and not divided. The
action of denying benefits to partners of gays killed on 9/11 will do
nothing but re-open a chasm in this country that 9/11 actually healed
to a great extent.
It's not always easy to do the difficult or perhaps even unpopular
thing, but it's always right to do the fair thing.
Thank you for your consideration.
Individual Comment
Philadelphia, PA