*QL-ED*: Partners of Gay Victims Find The Law Calls Them Strangers

[LGBT Activists List <Doug.Case@sdsu.edu>]

New York Times, October 14, 2001
( http://www.nytimes.com )

Partners of Gay Victims Find The Law Calls Them Strangers
        Bill Randolph would settle for being a statistic.  His lover of 26
years, Wesley Mercer, is among three security personnel from Morgan Stanley
still missing in the World Trade Center rubble.  But unlike other surviving
partners, Mr. Randolph is not eligible for the full range of benefits, from
pensions to Social Security payments to special memorial funds available to
victims of Sept. 11.  As gay men, the two were strangers under the law.
        "If you're straight and have a marriage license, it's one, two,
three," said Mr. Randolph, 45.  "We're clawing at it, just to be
acknowledged."
        Private relief agencies, including the Red Cross and Safe Horizon,
have provided assistance based on need, not marital status.  A few
corporations in the World Trade Center, like Cantor Fitzgerald and Lehman
Brothers, have extended benefits to same-sex partners.  But most government
benefits, such as workers' compensation, are limited to spouses and
children.
        For instance, the surviving spouse of a firefighter or police
officer
will receive a lifetime tax-free pension equal to the victim's final annual
earnings.  But, depending on the victim's salary, a gay domestic partner of
a firefighter or police officer may only receive a one-time payment of about
$50,000, said Lorna Goodman, a spokeswoman for the city corporation
counsel's office.
        "As the law now stands, partners of lesbian and gay victims would
not
be eligible for the social safety net," said Jennifer Middleton, a lawyer
for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay advocacy group that
has been working on this issue with a similar group, Empire State Pride
Agenda.
        Some gay people can count on receiving help because they are close
to
their partners' families, who often stand to inherit the person's estate.
But others, like Mr. Randolph, are in a different situation.
        "My best resource is Morgan Stanley," said Mr. Randolph, a part-time
organist who lives in Harlem.  "Last week, they gave me a check for $10,000
to take care of my immediate needs.  The government is not as understanding
as the private sector."
        Government officials have acknowledged the disparity.  Gov. George
E.
Pataki recently signed an executive order to cover gay partners under the
state's Crime Victims Board, which pays funeral costs and up to $30,000 for
lost income.  But it is unclear if other aid will be given.  "We are looking
into that," said Mollie Fullington, a Pataki spokeswoman.
- DENNY LEE
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