dojN000027.xml

dojN000027.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-20

Thursday, December 20, 2001 4:38 PM
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001

20 December 2001

Dear Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick:

As a member of various human rights organizations, I'm writing to
express my support of equal access to benefits under the September 11
Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or
marital status. As you know, 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.

As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you
apply basic international human rights standards, and the general
principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for
compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto
parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital
status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy,
granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence
with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim
living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family
deserves help in this time of need."

Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks.
Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had
mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the
distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive
policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an
important principle for other such funds. 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.

Thank you for considering my concerns. 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.

Thank you very much for your attention to these matters.

Sincerely,

Individual Comment
Seattle, WA

2001-12-20