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, December 04, 2001 11:37 AM Comments on the Department of Justice's Rulemaking Regarding the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: Comments on the Department of Justice's Rulemaking Regarding the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick, We are writing in response to the department's November 5 Notice of Inquiry and Advanced Notice of Rulemaking Re: the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The laudable purpose of the September 11th Fund is to provide compensation for the losses of relatives of those who died, and those who were injured. It is crucial for the many grieving families that the regulations implementing this purpose permit recovery for all deserving relatives, including the committed partners or non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims of the terror attacks. For those whose family relationships do not meet certain strict formal legal definitions, the enormity of the loss of a beloved companion or parent could be compounded by the prospect of ineligibility for compensation intended for their protection. The Department of Justice should not permit this potential inequity. We urge the Department to include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners or de facto parents or children, regardless of sexual orientation and marital status. Many who lost their life companions after lengthy committed relationships had not prepared wills with their partners, a circumstance which is not surprising considering the relative youth and good health they enjoyed. While many are fortunate to have the support of the biological relatives of the deceased, others (like many affected by this tragedy) face the added stresses of pre-existing family difficulties that have not abated in the wake of the attacks. Each and every one of them is reliant on the continuing good will and generosity of parents, siblings or children of the victim to treat them fairly. The federal September 11 Fund should ensure fair treatment of all surviving family members, including same-sex partners and de facto children of those who perished. Operated on a simple principle of equitable distribution of damages in proportion to losses sustained, it can serve the Congressional purposes of helping families to recover their economic security and allaying the financial uncertainty of survivors. Permitting all relatives who suffered losses to be eligible for compensation ensures equitable treatment of all the diverse families that suffered losses in this tragedy. As the United States Supreme Court recently noted, "[t]he demographic changes of the past century make it difficult to speak of an average American family. . . . [P]ersons outside the nuclear family are called upon with increasing frequency to assist in the everyday tasks of childrearing," Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. ___, 120 S.Ct. 2054, 2059 (2000), and the same can be said of other daily supports for family members. The criteria proposed by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund effectively accounts for the variety of family configurations and support obligations that Americans create today. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment Woodstock, N.Y. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 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 dojA000290.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. 2001-12-04