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. December 12, 2001 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Without the legal protections that federally recognized marriage licenses provide to heterosexual couples and their children, many families of lesbian and gay will not have access to such important benefits as social security death benefit income and tax-free transfers of property and/or financial accounts from the deceased spouse to the surviving spouse. For many lesbian and gay families, the "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund" may be their only recourse for receiving much needed assistance. Even charities such as the Red Cross are not legally bound to provide services or funds for the lesbian and gay families of victims of September 11. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor all these bonds of love and commitment by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other biological or federally-defined family by marriage. This way, at least on some level, America can proudly demonstrate in deed as well as word that she regards all her people, regardless of sexual orientation, as equal, valued citizens. Sincerely, Individual Comment Jersey City, New Jersey September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-12 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 dojA005478.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. 2001-12-12