R000803
Thursday, March 14, 2002 8:03 PM
Discrimination in 9/11 Fund
To whom it may concern:
I am sending this letter to the White House as well as those in charge of
the September 11th Victims' Fund, as I feel both should be very concerned
with the matters at hand. My name is
. I am a 17-year old high
school student in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. I recently received an
email from a gay rights newsletter to which I subscribe that brought
something terrible to my attention. Apparently gays and lesbians have been
deemed less worthy of compensation payments than other Americans, even those
living here illegally.
In a statement on Meet The Press recently, the September 11th Victim's
Compensation Fund's head Kenneth Feinberg stated, "[Gays and lesbians are]
left out of my program to the extent that their own state doesn't include
them. I cannot get into a position in this program, which has a
one-and-a-half or two-year life start second-guessing what the state of New
York or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the state of Virginia or New
Jersey, how they treat same-sex partners, domestic live-ins, etc. I simply
say this: What does your state law say about who is eligible? If your state
law makes you eligible, I will honor state law. If it doesn't, I go with the
state."
Since most states do not legally recognize gay relationships, and those that
do usually do so only for state employees, this means that most homosexual
victims of this horrible tragedy will receive less compensation than others,
including those who violate U.S. law by living here illegally. While I do
not feel that these people should be deprived of compensation, I feel that
one cannot overlook one law and rigorously enforce another, especially in
the case of a tragedy such as this.
, a name with which you may be familiar, was gay. He was also a
passenger on United Flight 93, and one of the people responsible for
bringing down that plane over Pennsylvania instead of on its alleged
intended target, the U.S. Congress building. Because of a stubbornness and
unwillingness to lose popularity with those who do not agree with
lifestyle, it appears his family will be given less compensation for their
loss than those of some of the other heroes involved.
Senator John McCain himself stated, "I never knew
. But I wish I
had. I know he was a good son and friend, a good rugby player, a good
American, and an extraordinary human being. He supported me, and his support
now ranks among the greatest honors of my life. I wish I had known before
September 11 just how great an honor his trust in me was. I wish I could
have thanked him for it more profusely than time and circumstances allowed.
But I know it now. And I thank him with the only means I possess, by being
as good an American as he was.
"America will overcome these atrocities. We will prevail over our enemies.
We will right this terrible injustice. And when we do, let us claim it as a
tribute to our liberty, and to
and all those who died to defend
it."
This is no fringe radical crying out for
heroism to be
rewarded, but a previous presidential hopeful. Please put a good deal of
thought into the matter and reconsider the decision to discriminate on the
basis of sexual preference when giving compensation payments for victims of
the horrible event that befell our country on September 11th. Thank you for
taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Natick, MA