R002302
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 11:06 AM
Re: 9/11 Fund
Is the contribution of a gay person worth less that that of a heterosexual?
Are the acts of a hero worthless because of his sexual orientation? Is the
pain of a child who has lost a parent less because that parent is gay?
and other gay heroes of 9/11 deserve to be remembered and
recognized along with their fellow Americans who happen to be heterosexual.
Families of gay individuals who dies in that tragic attack deserve to be
recognized by their country, and compensated for their terrible loss, just as
heterosexual victims families are.
Please consider this when you determine who will receive compensation, and
who will not.
"It is now believed that the terrorists on Flight 93 intended to crash the
airplane into the United States Capitol where I work, the great house of
democracy where I was that day. It is very possible that I would have been
in the building, with a great many other people, when that fateful,
terrible moment occurred, and a beautiful symbol of our freedom was
destroyed along with hundreds if not thousands of lives. I may very well
owe my life to and the others who summoned the enormous courage and love necessary to deny those depraved, hateful men their terrible triumph. Such a debt you incur for life." - (Senator John McCain's eulogy for .)
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.
So, in the end, pretty much everyone who died - including people who
aren't even American citizens and were living in the US illegally - will
be honored by the September 11th Fund as deserving of America's special
recognition and thanks. The sole exception will be gay and lesbian
Americans, because Feinberg and the 911 Fund wouldn't want to do anything
contrary to US law. (Unless of course it involves an illegal alien who
isn't even American - then apparently it's okay to bend the rules.)
"I never knew . But I wish I had. I know he was a good son and
friend, a good rugby player, a good American, and an extraordinary human
being. He supported me, and his support now ranks among the greatest
honors of my life. I wish I had known before September 11 just how great
an honor his trust in me was. I wish I could have thanked him for it more
profusely than time and circumstances allowed. But I know it now. And I
thank him with the only means I possess, by being as good an American as
he was.
"America will overcome these atrocities. We will prevail over our enemies.
We will right this terrible injustice. And when we do, let us claim it as
a tribute to our liberty, and to and all those who died to
defend it."
- Senator John McCain, Eulogy for .
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