R002044
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 7:46 AM
Dear Madam/Sir
I am just writing to say how unbelievably shocked and saddened I am to hear that lesbian and gay partners of those killed on September 11th will not automatically receive the same benefits as other heterosexual families. I understand that you are leaving it up to each individual state to decide but this seems to be a bit baffling. The government has made an exception for illegal aliens and companies who hired them and yet it is unwilling to make an exception for lesbian and gay partners. Mr Feinberg said that "Gays and lesbians are left out of my program to the extent that their own state doesn't include them". Well, as I understand it, each state also has laws against illegal aliens and yet Mr Feinberg is willing to overlook and overide this law because of the nature of this event. Why is Mr Feinberg unwilling to do the same for lesbians and gays who are US citizens?
In this day and age, I find the homophobia of our government most disturbing. Considering how many gay heroes there were in the September 11th tragedy, the government should be ashamed of excluding the partners of these hereos and the partners of other ordiary citizens who were killed in this tragedy.
I hope you will reconsider your views for the sake of all Amercians.
Sincerely yours
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