R001456
Sunday, March 17, 2002 3:03 PM
Discrimination is Un-American
Kenneth L. Zwick, Director
Office of Management Programs -- Civil Division
US Department of Justice
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Mr Zwick:
In recent interviews, the head of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund,
Kenneth Feinberg, has made 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.
Even fetuses and illegal aliens will be receiving benefits under this
program. But when it comes to gay and lesbian heroes of the day -- who helped bring down the flight in Pennsylvania, NY Fire Dept.
who died in the line of duty when the first
tower fell, and who was
of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon (there are many more) --
we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made. How can this
be?
If September 11 has taught us anything, it's 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. Apparently,
that family just got a divorce. The hyphens seem not to matter when our
government wants to use our heroism to inspire others, but when it comes time
to actually aid the families of those heroes, the hyphens come back with a
vengeance, and it seems that some American heroes are now more equal than
others.
Discrimination is un-American. 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. Please work to change these facts, it
is the American thing to do! Please don't let their deaths be in vain.
FOR THE MEMORY OF:
And so many more...
Respectfully,
Individual Comment
Sacramento, CA