dojR000048.xml
Title
dojR000048.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
email
Date Entered
2002-03-11
September 11 Email: Body
Monday, March 11, 2002 12:37 PM
Discrimination against gays under the 9/11 fund
I am writing to express my shock, sadness and anger over the fact that gay
Americans will not be compensated for the loss of their loved ones in the
9/11 attacks at the same level as any other person. This discrimination
simply must stop.
I am the mother of a gay child, aged 16. He came out to his father and me
when he was 14. It came as no shock to us: from the time he was 5 years
old, we suspected that our son was gay. It was, and is, clear to me that
sexual orientation is something over which a person has no choice, that one
is born gay. Our son¹s sexual orientation has made absolutely no difference
to us: it is just simply who he is. He is also a great human being ?
sensitive, funny, and gifted with an impressive intellect. He has been an
honor student throughout his academic career, has received numerous awards,
and is at present taking courses at a local college, even though he is still
a junior in high school. He has never been in trouble, never smoked a
cigarette, never taken drugs. In short, my son is every mother¹s dream.
And ? not but, ³And² -- his ³high school sweetheart² is a boy. He is
dating a wonderful young man, whom we love dearly. They have attended proms
and formals together, they buy each other presents on birthdays and
anniversaries, they are a source of joy and comfort to one another. In
short, my son is wonderful boy, completely average in some respects and
above average in others. The only thing that sets him apart in the universe
is that he was born gay.
What is it about that which would allow you to discriminate against him, or
any other gay person, so cruelly and unjustly? I appreciate the fact that
for some people, their religious convictions do not allow them to see my son
as ³normal.² But this is America. Our Constitution guarantees us the right
to believe as we see fit, to say what we have to say, to be whoever we are,
so long as we are not harming other people or violating their rights. The
people who flew planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon are enemies to
those values. They want to make over the world to fit their image of what
is the ³right² way to be. By discriminating against gays, you are not only
turning your back on the Constitution, you are essentially agreeing with the
terrorists by affirming that there is only one right and appropriate way to
be. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
To say that the fund must follow state rules is the coward¹s way out, since
you are merely saying that, if a state discriminates against gays, then you
will too. All I can say is, thank God
wasn¹t such a coward.
Thank God
was not such a coward when he bent down to give a
dying fire fighter the last rites. If you want to truly remember those
heroes, then you will do it by showing a little backbone yourself. You will
do the right thing and provide the partners of the gay and lesbian victims
of the 9/11 attacks what is due to them as American citizens, heroes, and
patriots.
Individual Comment
North Easton, MA
Discrimination against gays under the 9/11 fund
I am writing to express my shock, sadness and anger over the fact that gay
Americans will not be compensated for the loss of their loved ones in the
9/11 attacks at the same level as any other person. This discrimination
simply must stop.
I am the mother of a gay child, aged 16. He came out to his father and me
when he was 14. It came as no shock to us: from the time he was 5 years
old, we suspected that our son was gay. It was, and is, clear to me that
sexual orientation is something over which a person has no choice, that one
is born gay. Our son¹s sexual orientation has made absolutely no difference
to us: it is just simply who he is. He is also a great human being ?
sensitive, funny, and gifted with an impressive intellect. He has been an
honor student throughout his academic career, has received numerous awards,
and is at present taking courses at a local college, even though he is still
a junior in high school. He has never been in trouble, never smoked a
cigarette, never taken drugs. In short, my son is every mother¹s dream.
And ? not but, ³And² -- his ³high school sweetheart² is a boy. He is
dating a wonderful young man, whom we love dearly. They have attended proms
and formals together, they buy each other presents on birthdays and
anniversaries, they are a source of joy and comfort to one another. In
short, my son is wonderful boy, completely average in some respects and
above average in others. The only thing that sets him apart in the universe
is that he was born gay.
What is it about that which would allow you to discriminate against him, or
any other gay person, so cruelly and unjustly? I appreciate the fact that
for some people, their religious convictions do not allow them to see my son
as ³normal.² But this is America. Our Constitution guarantees us the right
to believe as we see fit, to say what we have to say, to be whoever we are,
so long as we are not harming other people or violating their rights. The
people who flew planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon are enemies to
those values. They want to make over the world to fit their image of what
is the ³right² way to be. By discriminating against gays, you are not only
turning your back on the Constitution, you are essentially agreeing with the
terrorists by affirming that there is only one right and appropriate way to
be. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
To say that the fund must follow state rules is the coward¹s way out, since
you are merely saying that, if a state discriminates against gays, then you
will too. All I can say is, thank God
wasn¹t such a coward.
Thank God
was not such a coward when he bent down to give a
dying fire fighter the last rites. If you want to truly remember those
heroes, then you will do it by showing a little backbone yourself. You will
do the right thing and provide the partners of the gay and lesbian victims
of the 9/11 attacks what is due to them as American citizens, heroes, and
patriots.
Individual Comment
North Easton, MA
September 11 Email: Date
2002-03-11
Collection
Citation
“dojR000048.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 4, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/24864.