Feinstein Calls on Attorney General to Ensure that Deserving Gay and Lesbian Partners of 9/11 Victims Receive Fair Compensation from the September 11 Compensation Fund.
December 19, 2001

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to ensure that all deserving gay and lesbian partners and non-biological children of victims of the September 11 attacks receive equal treatment with respect to the administration of the September 11 Compensation Fund.

In a letter to Attorney General Ashcroft, Senator Feinstein wrote: "As a long-time advocate for victims' rights, I am writing to urge you to treat all victims of the September 11th attacks equally with respect to the administration of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Specifically, I urge that the regulations you establish ensure that all victims receive full and fair compensation for their losses without regard to their sexual orientation.

The September 11th terrorist attacks affected all families, heterosexual and homosexual alike. One of the heroes on board United flight 93, Mark Bingham, was a gay man whose partner lives in California. In fact, many of the gay and lesbian victims of these attacks are survived by longtime partners. For example, David O'Leary lost his partner of 17 years in the World Trade Center attacks and David Charlebois, co-pilot of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, is survived by his partner of 14 years. The need for support and recompense is no less real for these survivors than it is for other relatives who have lost loved ones.

I strongly urge you to promulgate regulations allowing all deserving relatives, including the same-sex partners and non-biological children of those who died in the September 11th attacks, to receive full and fair compensation from the September 11th Compensation Fund.

Ensuring this will permit the federal fund to be distributed with equality and fairness to all those in need. Such distribution upholds the fundamental values of liberty and equality cherished by all Americans, values that we are currently fighting to defend."

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