R001670
Sunday, March 17, 2002 5:26 PM
"9/11 Fund To Discriminate Against Gays"
To Whom it May Concern,
"In an appearance on the Sunday, March 10 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the
Press," Kenneth Feinberg, the head of the September 11th Victim Compensation
Fund (a fund created by Congress and run by the Department of Justice), said
that gay partners of the heroes of September 11th will not necessarily be
eligible for the same compensation as heterosexual family members who lost
their loved ones." Commentary by
If the facts are accurate as stated in the commentary that is referred to
above, and that gays and lesbians will be once again marginalized and
discriminated against, it is truly a sad reality that even in response to
9/11, our North American society cannot rise above the crowd and do what is
right. One can only hope that you and others within your organization and
within the American government have the courage to go beyond hatred and
prejudice -- to truly show love, understanding, and acceptance. For all
members of society - young and old - that look to you to set an example and
to do what is right, I pray that you will find a way to include gays and
lesbians and to treat them equally and justly.
A wonderful editorial ran in our small local newspaper this week. The
editor's comments started with this statement: "...Hate is evil and
destructive; love is good and constructive..." When her five year old, in
response to an episode of Simpsons, said "Boys can only love girls and marry
girls, right momma. And boys can't love boys, and boys can't marry boys..."
the mom at first thought that it was too complicated to explain to him that
he wasn't right. In the end it turned out it wasn't really a complicated
subject at all. Upset with her initial response to him, she revisited the
situation with him and explained to her son that "...men can love men and
they can live together like husband and wife. And women can love women and
they can live together like they're married. Usually it's men and women who
fall in love with each other and get married but it doesn't have to be. And
that's just the way it is." THIS MOTHER REALIZED SHE DIDN'T NEED TO SEW THE
SEEDS OF PREJUDICE IN HER CHILD.
It's now that you must show that love is good and constructive, unlike the
hatred that caused the evil and destruction of 9/11. Help put an end to
discrimination of gays and lesbians! Help stop hatred! Find a way to
honour ALL of your heroes!
Individual Comment