September 11 Digital Archive

dojR000468.xml

Title

dojR000468.xml

Source

born-digital

Media Type

email

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-03-12

September 11 Email: Body


Tuesday, March 12, 2002 2:27 PM
Denial of 9/11 funds to domestic partners


I am ashamed that my country would condone discrimination in the
distribution of funds that have been donated by people all over the world
for victims of September 11. I donated money to various victim funds with
the intention that it would be distributed to all the families of anyone
killed or injured by the horrendous terrorist attacks. I did not anticipate
that my donations would be denied to domestic partners, whether same sex or
opposite sex, of victims simply because they are not legally married. Many
would be married if they could be. There are many reasons why two people in
love do not marry but the lack of a legally married status does not render
them any less in love, any less dependent upon each other, any less of a
citizen, or any less deserving of my money. Most egregious are laws that
forbid the marriage of same-sex couples. How can my country give these
donated benefits to the families (mostly illegal alien themselves) of
illegal aliens who have flouted the law to reap the advantages of living in
this country and yet deny them to law-abiding citizens who have contributed
to this country but who simply have not legalized their partnerships,
especially those who are forbidden to legalize their partnerships? How can
my country ignore the domestic partner of a gay man (and possibly of other
men and women, straight or gay, we do not know about) who quite likely saved
the lives of the very people who are now denying him this money that I and
other far more fortunate people (more fortunate because we survived) donated
to help all the families now bereft of their loved ones?
I demand that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund headed by
Kenneth Feinberg return my donations if this heinous injustice is allowed to
continue. The terrorists did not single out only certain people to be
killed; they targeted everyone and anyone, gay and straight, legal citizens
and illegal aliens, men and women, good people and bad, young and old. Mr.
Feinberg, you are misappropriating my money. Your intended actions will
misappropriate this money by perpetuating moral judgments against victims of
events that defied morality.


Individual Comment
Dayton, Ohio

September 11 Email: Date

2002-03-12

Citation

“dojR000468.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 22, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/28611.