dojA001604.xml

dojA001604.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-13

Thursday, December 13, 2001 5:01 PM
Fair Treatment for September 11th Victims' Families

To Mr. Feinberg:

September 11 was a tragic day for all Americans. Unfair treatment of the
victims' surviving families would compound the tragedy.

If this were an ordinary lawsuit settlement, the survivors of a bond trader
earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as
much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants
destroyed. But it isn't. This was an attack on all Americans equally. The
minimum compensation level must be set high enough to honor all those who
died, however unexpectedly, for their country. It would be a double blow to
the survivors to first lose their loved one, possibly their major or only
bread-winner, and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who
were already well off in the first place.

Like low-income families, gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable
when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable,
these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to
prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and
the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate
against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the
same.

Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you
will act on these very important issues.

Sincerely,

Individual Comment
Menlo Park CA

2001-12-13