dojN000503.xml

dojN000503.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-21

Friday, December 21, 2001 1:25 PM
equal access for gay surviving spouses


December 21, 2001

Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick,

As a longtime member of Amnesty International, which is committed to
ensuring respect for the basic human rights of all people, I write in
support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief
Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status.


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 decency and 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 and
are suffering at least as much as their straight counterparts. 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.


Sincerely,

Individual Comment
Philadelphia, PA

2001-12-21