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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:03 PM Remember Them All December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I wish to speak with you about plans the Justice Department is making to compensate all victims and family members of those killed on Sept. 11th. What occurred on that day was a horror of unimaginable proportions. Therefore, we must all make the greatest of efforts to help those most affected by this tragedy. And those who are most affected are not just the husbands, wives, mothers and fathers of those lost. The parters of gay and lesbian individuals killed on Sept. 11th are just as victimized as anyone else. They built lives together, shared dreams together, and planned a future together. Some even raised children together or cared for children from previous marriages and relationships. They should be recognized by the Justice Department, along with the families of every other victim. They should be honored and consoled by the rest of our society for their tremendous loss. To ignore those most loved by the victims of this horrible act would dishonor the memory of those who were killed. The State of New York has already adopted a policy that properly recognize all vicitms who were affected. It grants 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." Similar language should be a cornerstone to any relief fund set up by the Justice Department. As you consider laying out the ground rules for the Sept. 11 Relief Fund, I ask that you simply abide by the human rights standards that the United States has committed itself to in the past. These standards include the policies laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. 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 Lebanon, PA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 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 dojA003495.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. 2001-12-19