R001410
Sunday, March 17, 2002 12:39 PM
Some American heroes more 'equal' than others
To the administrators of the Victim Compensation Fund:
I want to take this opportunity as a patriotic American
citizen to say that I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners
of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going
to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses.
I have learned that the head of your fund, a fund created by
Congress to help the families of those who died on September 11,
has made it clear that the partners of gay and lesbian heroes
of September 11 will not necessarily receive the same benefits
as the spouses of heterosexual victims of the horrible terror
attacks.
It also appears that illegal aliens will also be
receiving benefits under this program, and that federal law
will be overlooked with the illegally resident families
of illegal aliens who were killed on 9/11 being compensated
instead of deported. It also appears that American
companies who hired illegal aliens killed on 9/11 will not
be punished for being in direct violation of federal labor
laws.
But when it comes to the heroes of that tragic day who
happen to be gay or lesbian such as...
who helped bring down the flight in
Pennsylvania before it could reach its target, or
New York Fire Dept. who
died in the line of duty when the first tower fell, or
who was of the plane that crashed into the (there are many more)...
we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made.
The truth is that our patriotism and love of country transcend
our differences and unite us all. We were told that September 11
was the day that "hyphenated-Americans" were no more, and rather than
being Italian-Americans, African-Americans or gay-Americans,
we were now simply Americans, all of us together as one
American family.
When our government wants to use our heroism to inspire others the hyphens
conveniently don't exist, but when it comes time to actually aid the
families and loved ones of those heroes, the hyphens magically reappear,
with some American heroes being more equal than others.
In my opinion, this policy is outrageous and un-American.
For those readers who are interested in the complete details
about how the Fund is discriminating against gay and lesbian
partners of the 9/11 heroes, please visit the website:
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