N001123
Friday, December 28, 2001 3:48 PM
Equal suffering - equal compensation - for all Sept 11 victims
families
December 28, 2001
Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick,
The September 11 Victims Relief Fund should equally compensate the
survivors of all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital
status. Despite the lack of any national gay civil rights law, the United
States has committed to uphold international human rights standards,
including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary
discrimination. Ordinary recognized standards of human rights require you
to verify the family status of those unable to marry and compensate those
who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children,
without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The Red Cross and
the State of New York has already adopted such a policy. Everyone who died
on Sept. 11 died, however unwillingly, for their country. In
compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families -
and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of
September 11 are treated with dignity and equality.
I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all
surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the
relief fund.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Menlo Park, CA