R001354
Sunday, March 17, 2002 8:44 AM
From a first-responder to the WTC attack...
I am a New York City Police Officer. I am also a gay man. I was one of
the first wave of responders to the attack against the World Trade Center. I
was near the base of Tower Two when the second plane hit.
I'm alive but for the grace of God. I could've died that day on a few
occasions. For some reason I was kept out of harms way. I lived and my
friends perished.
When the South Tower came down I was standing near the base of Tower
One. The cloud of dust knocked me to the floor and then it was total
darkness. I wasn't aware of what was going on. My first thought was of my
domestic partner of 18 years. I thought that I was dying and how distraught
my partner was going to be when I was found dead there. As I took my first
breath and felt the dust going down my nose and throat I realized that I was
alive but then thought that I was going to suffocate. The rest is a long
story but I'm telling you this because I want to illustrate a point.
That day I didn't help only the gay people or the straight people. I
helped all the people. I shudder to think that if I had perished there the
man that has loved me all these years would have had to mourn me as he had to
worry about where the next mortgage payment or the money for the funeral was
going to come from.
When you exclude lesbian and gay partners from participating from the
benefits that will be distributed to family members you are discriminating.
If I had died that day you would be calling me a hero and you would be
treating my partner like a second class citizen.
Is not too late to prevent this injustice from occurring. Please
reconsider your position and do the right thing.
Respectfully yours,
Individual Comment