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. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 RE: September 11 Victim Compensation Program Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing on behalf of myself in response to the Department's November 5, 2001 request for public comments regarding the Department's forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" established by the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act ("the Act"). As that Act makes clear, the purpose of the Fund is to provide compensation to any persons who were physically injured in the September 11 terrorist attacks as well as to the surviving "relatives" of those who died. I strongly urge the Department to promulgate regulations ensuring that compensation is available to all surviving family members of those killed, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. Just as the terrorist drew no lines in killing people, our country must absolutely draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific deaths. In promulgating its regulations, the Department should look not to legal formalisms that may define relatives or families for purposes of other laws, but rather to the realities of the lives of those who were killed and those who loved and were dependent on them. It is clear from the Act that this is precisely the approach the Department must take in administering the Fund. The Act specifically identifies a number of "economic" and "non- economic" losses for which compensation is to be awarded from the Fund. These include burial costs, loss of earnings, physical and emotional pain, suffering, mental anguish, and loss of society and companionship. See 402(5) and 402(7). It is unquestionable that the survivors of those killed on September 11 suffered these types of losses regardless of their sexual orientation or marital status or their formal legal relationship to the deceased. Indeed, grief and economic loss know no such boundaries. The emotional devastation and economic loss caused by the death of one's partner is not any less because that person was of the same sex as the survivor. A child's anguishing loss of a parent is not any less because there was no biologic tie. Since the purpose of the Fund is to compensate survivors precisely for the types of losses suffered by family members of those killed, the Department's regulations should not and indeed cannot properly exclude anyone who was a family member in fact. In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 tragedies, as various victim-relief funds were being established, some on the extreme radical right criticized relief agencies that had made clear their intent to make funds available to assist not only surviving married spouses of persons killed in the attacks but also the surviving partners of gay men and lesbians who had been killed. These cruel and reprehensible calls for the exclusion of gay and lesbian families from relief efforts have been accompanied by claims that the effort to provide relief to all who have suffered is somehow a push for a so-called "gay agenda." However, the determination of who was actually victimized by the September 11 attacks, of who actually suffered loss, of who actually is grieving, is not about advancing some alleged political "agenda." What is at issue here is a human tragedy of unimaginable horror and dimension, and about the fair and humane treatment of all who have personally suffered from the acts of the terrorists. Many gay and lesbian Americans lost their lives on September 11. Many of them left behind loved ones, including partners and children whose lives were intertwined with theirs and who were dependent on them for financial a well as emotional support. A number of them are known to have engaged in heroic acts that day, and they have been praised as national heroes. It would be an insult not only to those heroes, but to all who died on that tragic day, for the Department to draw artificial lines defining loss and grief. In fact, it would be unconscionable. We urge that the Department's regulations reflect these concerns. I am a heterosexual male, living in Ellensburg, Washington. I am absolutely amazed that my country would have the audacity and ignorance to even consider any of the unfair practices you are contemplating. My elected officials shall most definitely hear from me and my vote(s) in the future are contingent heavily upon their response. Sincerely, Individual Comment Ellensburg, Washington September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-31 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 dojA005491.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. 2002-01-31