R002016
Monday, March 18, 2002 4:16 PM
Sept. 11 fund exclusion of gay families
To Whom it May Concern:
I am a Marriage and Family Therapist, and as both an individual and a
professional, I believe that the way this fund is handling gay and
lesbian partners and families is wrong. Our country has a vested
interest in supporting and honoring those who survive the victims of
this attack.
Relying on existing state laws to determine qualifying relationships
necessarily excludes nearly all same-sex partners and non-bioligical
children of same-sex parents, because only one state in the US
currently has any form of recognition for these relationships. First,
using this standard is wrong because it ignores the many municipal and
county ordinances which do provide recognition for same-sex
partnerships. Second, it ignores the relationships created by those
who did not live in areas which benefit from such ordinances.
It is wrong that a fund so dedicated to the welfare of surviors that it
provides for fetuses and illegal aliens would exclude this category of
relationships, thereby harming those who both loved and depended on
victims of the terrorist attacks. The emotional and financial
devastation that they have suffered has alredy been great enough
without adding insult to injury by ignoring them in the distribution of
victim's compensation funds.
Finally, it also dishonors those gay and lesbian people who died in the
attacks. What could be more important to any of them, had their wishes
been known, than to care for those whom they made lives with? It is an
insult to the memory of the sacrifices these people made to exclude
their loved ones from the fund.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment