Not All Survivors Are Created Equal

John Aravosis is mad as hell. But, unlike Howard Beale, the news anchor in the movie, "Network," Aravosis is not going to the nearest open window and sticking his head out and yelling "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" He is too media wise and Internet savvy to do that.

In March 2000, Aravosis and a few friends set up StopDrLaura.com to convince Paramount not to air the upcoming "Dr. Laura" TV show. The site was a huge hit. In an email Aravosis told me: "As a result of the 60 million hits this pro bono site received in just 10 months, and the 300,000 visitors per month we continued to get throughout the campaign, we organized over 31 protests in cities across the country and Canada; more than 150 advertisers dropped [the] show, including some 70 or so advertisers that Canadian activists got to drop her in that country alone! And over 30 advertisers dropped her radio show costing her nearly $30 million on the radio show alone!

"In addition, the entire nation of Canada canceled the TV show completely, and TV stations across America started dropping Laura Schlessinger like a hot potato, or banishing her to the wee morning hours, until she was finally canceled just before April Fool's day, 2001. All this on an $18,000 budget, raised mostly from the online sale of t-shirts."

Aravosis is now raising his voice on behalf of equity and justice for the families of gay and lesbian victims of September 11.

Feinberg Rules

Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, laid out the Administration's position regarding the families of gay and lesbian victims of 9/11 on the March 10 edition of NBC's "Meet the Press":

"[Gays and lesbians are] left out of my program to the extent that their own state doesn't include them. I cannot get into a position in this program, which has a one-and-a-half or two-year life, [and] start second-guessing what the state of New York or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the state of Virginia or New Jersey, how they treat same-sex partners, domestic live-ins, etc. I simply say this: What does your state law say about who is eligible? If your state law makes you eligible, I will honor state law. If it doesn't, I go with the state. Otherwise, Tim, I would find myself getting sued in every state by people claiming that I'm not following how the state distributes money. I can't get into that local battle. I've got to rely on state law."

Stick with me here. This is going to get a little complicated. Aravosis says that Feinberg's explanation is basic Washingtonese -- a little misleading. "In layman's terms, the money goes to the estate of the Sept. 11 deceased, and state law dictates how that money goes to a family. If the deceased had a will, and the will designated the partner as getting a portion of the estate, they're covered. But most people in America do not have wills. That's why they have to rely on state law. And almost no state recognizes the gay partner of the deceased.

"In fact, even in some states that recognize domestic partners who register, like California, if you don't have a will, your gay partner will still not get any money from your estate. As there are only three states that in any way recognize such partners -- California, Vermont, and Hawaii, as well as Washington DC -- I have been told by lawyers representing gay and lesbian survivors that they expect some survivors will not get benefits. The state of Virginia, for example, has already sent a letter to the 18-year partner of one woman who [died] in the Pentagon that as her 'friend' she won't see a dime."

In essence, in a rather complicated and convoluted decision, families of gays and lesbians will not be given federal compensation unless they have wills, or the states they live in have laws recognizing domestic partnerships, which of course most states do not.