R002518
Thursday, March 21, 2002 12:19 PM
citizen comment re 9/11 compensations
As a tax paying citizen of the United States and the Commonwealth of
Virginia, I should like to go on record. I am philosophically opposed to our
government - my tax dollars - going to compensate families of the victims of
terrorism on September 11, 2001. As horrifying as this attack was, I do not
believe it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to repay the
families for their losses.
What of the families of the coal miners who lost their lives the following
week? or the families of victims of natural disasters?
If you want to stick to terrorist acts, what of the victims' families from
the Oklahoma bombing? or all the school shootings? hijackings? kidnappings?
Where does it end?
Public servants, whose jobs put them in harms' way, do indeed deserve family
compensation, and most of those professions have such funding in place.
Anything beyond that creates an unrealistic and enormously expensive
precedent. We are great givers to charities in America and I fully support
private funding raised through voluntary contributions.
That being said, if you are going to give these dollars to the families of
victims, even to the families of illegal immigrants, even to fetuses - then
it is unconscionable that you do not extend the funding to the partners of
gay victims. Has this attack taught us nothing about rising above our
differences?
Individual Comment
Richmond, Virginia