dojA001602.xml

dojA001602.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-13

Thursday, December 13, 2001 4:50 PM
fair treatment

Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530

To Mr. Feinberg:

I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving
families of the tragedy on
September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers
and gay and lesbian
families.

Under traditional rules based on lost wages, 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. Justice requires
looking far beyond the last
paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high
minimum compensation level
is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the
survivors to first lose
their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to
those who were already
well off in the first place.

The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay
and lesbian
relationships and 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

2001-12-13