Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 7:50 AM Benefits for Gay Americans - 911 Fund I just read an article that both shocked and saddened me about how same-sex partners of those lost on September 11th may not receive the same benefits as heterosexual partners of those lost. The article is located here: http://uspolitics.about.com/library/weekly/aa031102a.htm September 11th has shown us the ugly face of hate in a way many Americans have never seen it. The terrorists judged Americans for who and what we are, and elected to punish us for it. On that terrible day, they took the lives of people that they could not have possibly judged as good or bad people, doing right or wrong in the world. We were all labeled Americans and targeted for it. Who are we to judge the value of our gay Americans... the quantity or quality of their love, their commitment to each other, and the lives that they built together? Same-sex partners of survivors are left no less devastated or heartbroken by the loss of their loved one. Their lives are no less destroyed than their heterosexual counterparts. It's time, particularly right now in the face of trying to heal our country from the horrible scars September 11th left behind, for us to be very aware of whom we hurt on our own soil. Heart-wrenching events such as these call for love and compassion to heal, not laws. I ask you to reconsider your program's stance on providing benefits to the loved ones of gay Americans lost on September 11th. If the purpose of your program is to assist the loved ones of those lost; to help them rebuild their lives, to help them to face the future without the partner or parent they thought they'd have the opportunity to build that future with, I urge you to make decisions on that criteria alone. You have the power to do what it takes to make sure that these Americans are honored and taken care of in an equal and just way. I do not want my children's children to read about how gay Americans were discriminated against in the aftermath of September 11th while others, even non-Americans, were assisted, and wonder why. And they will wonder, just as I wondered when reading my history books why African-Americans were discriminated against in this country. I beg you to give this issue serious consideration, and not overlook the fact that the love shared between any two people is as real and true as the hate that brought us to this moment. Individual Comment Alexandra, Virginia September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000361.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12