dojR002236.xml

dojR002236.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-03-19

Tuesday, March 19, 2002 6:16 PM
Government's 9/11 Fund Exclusions

To the Bush Administration and 9/11 Fund Administrator Feinberg:

I am disgusted, angered, and disappointed by the recently announced decision
to exclude surviving partners of lesbian and gay victims of the 9/11
attacks. That this exclusion is cloaked in an ostensible reliance on state
laws is a transparent attempt to deflect responsibiltity by harking to a
kind of "state's rights" interpretation - "if they don't recognize 'em, we
won't."

Mr. Feinberg in a television appearance stressed that with a short life to
the fund - 1 1/2 to 2 years - he is not able to follow any path BUT these
particular state laws (though the same is not true of other laws and
regulations, for example those dealing with immigrants). I would suggest
that it is _exactly_ the limited nature of this fund's life and of his
mandate that creates a perfect case for NOT discriminating among victims -
to determine whose life is, in the case of this fund, literally worth more
to the survivors. There can be little rational complaint about "social
engineering" or charges of an effort to change state laws when the focus of
this fund and its time frame are so limited.

In addition, treating the survivors of _all_ victims the same would allow
the Bush administration to act upon its rhetoric of U.S. unity and to model
equality in the wake of these attacks. Because, make no mistake, I am not
suggesting that anyone Mr. Feinberg has already "defined in" be excluded;
rather, I want you to treat all survivors the same and bring in those he
chose to leave out.

As I understand it, that would be the American Way.

Individual Comment
Minneapolis, Minnesota

2002-03-19