Peggy Neff (right) is trying to cope with the financial impact of losing her partner of 18 years, Sheila Hein, who was killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon. Virginia law bars gay partners from access to a state compensation fund. (photo courtesy of Lynn Rosenberg)

by Rhonda Smith

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Lesbians and gay men who lost partners during the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 are learning tough lessons nationwide about laws and social rules that can limit how much help they receive from various sources.

Maryland resident Peggy Neff received $7,900 from the American Red Cross and money from the National Association of Realtors to help pay the mortgage on the Hyattsville home she shared with Sheila Hein, her partner of 18 years. But several other organizations have not responded to her calls for help.

Hein, a civilian Army employee and the family’s primary breadwinner, was killed during the attack at the Pentagon. She was 51.

"At my current salary," Neff said, "I don’t make enough to pay the mortgage and the bills."

Neff, 54, is a massage and hypno-therapist and recently began work as an agent for a local real estate company.

California resident Keith Bradkowski lost his partner of 11 years, Jeffrey Collman, a flight attendant on the American Airlines plane that hit the World Trade Center. He is now lobbying for the right to claim a share of the federal government’s Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.

U.S. Department of Justice officials are scheduled Dec. 21 to unveil rules related to how the program will be administered, and who is eligible to file claims.

"We would have married each other if we could have," Bradkowski told the San Francisco Chronicle. The couple was registered under California’s two-year-old domestic partners system.

In late November, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft appointed Kenneth Feinberg as "special master" to administer the federal government’s victim compensation fund.

Charles Miller, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, said the question of whether domestic partners would be included in the victim compensation program has yet to be determined. Of the 765 public comments submitted about the program so far, 252 pertain to gay-related issues, a review of Internet responses at www.usdoj.gov/victimcompensation shows.

Congress approved federal legislation in October to provide financial assistance to the airline industry in the wake of financial problems encountered as a result of the terrorist attacks. The legislation directs the Justice Department to establish rules for providing an undetermined amount of money to survivors of the Sept. 11 victims.

In an effort to prevent the two airlines involved in the Sept. 11 crashes, United and American, from facing potential losses of more than a billion dollars in lawsuits brought by victims’ families, Congress created the federal compensation program as an alternative to litigation. Those who apply for compensation through the fund must sign a waiver preventing them from suing the airlines in federal court.

Since Hein’s death, Neff has contacted various organizations for help. The Defense Department assigned her a "casualty officer" and acknowledged that she and Hein were partners.

The United Way of the National Capital Area could not help because it does not directly distribute money to victims. The Salvation Army could not help because it is providing assistance only for employees in the hospitality and airline industry in this region who were affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Stacey Grissom, a spokesperson at the national headquarters for the American Red Cross, said Neff might be eligible to receive more money because the Red Cross recently expanded its Family Gift Program. The organization’s Liberty Disaster Fund has received $543 million.

After harsh criticism last month from the public about how the Red Cross planned to disburse the money, officials there announced that the immediate and long-term needs of people affected by the September attacks would be the sole focus of the fund.

"We are going back to people we’ve already helped and, maybe, extending the amount of assistance we’ve previously given," Grissom said.

On a related matter, the American Red Cross of Greater New York re-issued guidelines last week about the definition of "family" to help meet the needs of people seeking Red Cross assistance or funds from the Family Gift Program. The guidelines noted that the Red Cross uses "a broad and inclusive definition of family."

"In doing so, we recognize traditional married families, as well as the committed relationships and domestic partnerships of many couples, including same-gender couples, who have been living together or who can demonstrate financial interdependence," the guidelines said.

Robert Bender of New York's Red Cross office said his chapter has appointed a liaison to the gay community.

Robert M. Bender Jr., chief executive of the New York Red Cross office, said in a letter to Matt Foreman, the former executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay civil rights group, that the Red Cross chapter also had appointed a liaison to the gay community.

"As you are aware, in some cases our policy has not been applied fairly and appropriately," Bender’s letter Nov. 30 to Foreman said. "Whenever such a case is brought to our attention, we have corrected it immediately. We deeply regret the pain and inconvenience caused by these occurrences to any person who came to us for assistance."

Joe Tarver, a spokesperson for Empire State Pride, said the Red Cross reiterated its gay-friendly policy after several gay groups complained that case workers meeting with people who lost family members at the World Trade Center were not treating all same-sex couples fairly.

"We had survivors who got wonderful care, and others who were told flat out that they weren’t eligible," he said.

Bender said in his letter to Foreman that the guidelines had recently been distributed to all Family Services staff working on the disaster response.

Terri Freeman, president of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, said that organization is scheduled to vote Friday, Dec. 7, on guiding principles about how $12 million in funds for the victims in this region will be distributed. The foundation is an umbrella group for individuals and organizations that want to establish philanthropic funds.

Freeman said the proposal, which is expected to be approved, would define families as "two or more people living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption, or commitment to care for one another."

Neff said she generally has been pleased with her calls for help, except in Virginia.

A claims technician at the Virginia Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund in Richmond told Neff in a recent letter that she is not eligible to file a claim for benefits based on state law. Under the Virginia Victims of Crime Act, the letter stated, "only a surviving spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, adult child, or legal dependent of a deceased victim is eligible to file a claim and receive an award."

A maximum award of up to $15,000 is available to pay for expenses such as a victim’s funeral and burial costs, undue financial hardship, unreimbursed medical expenses, wage loss, and mental health counseling.

Reed Boatright, a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III, said Neff could appeal to the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, which administers the fund.

"But the law is very particular," he added. "It appears clear to our legal folks that we couldn’t [assist Neff] with the stroke of a pen."

Mary Vail Ware, director of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, which the Virginia General Assembly created in 1977, agreed.

"Everyone has the right of appeal. I would never discourage anyone from going through the appeals process," she said. "There are parts of this law open to interpretation. But eligibility is probably not one of them."

Lesbians and gay men who lost partners during the attack at the World Trade Center have received a much different response from New York officials.

New York Gov. George E. Pataki, also a Republican, issued an executive order that temporarily suspended provisions relating to crime victims’ awards for people dependent upon loved ones killed at the World Trade Center. Gay people who prove that they depended on a victim for principal support qualify for financial help.

The executive order also stipulates that instead of requiring a person seeking assistance to prove that at least 75 percent of the person’s support came from the crime victim, this threshold was reduced to 50 percent.

"If the government wants to do something in a situation like this, they can do it," said Foreman, the former executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, one of the gay civil rights groups in New York that urged Pataki to issue the executive order. "If they choose not to, that’s their choice. You can find an obstacle to doing anything."

Ware, director of Virginia’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, said Gilmore does not have the power to do what Pataki did in this instance because Virginia’s governor does not have the same legal authority.

"Our governor has no control over that process," Ware said. "He can’t issue executive orders applying to state laws. He can only issue orders over items over which he has jurisdiction."

Virginia’s majority-Republican General Assembly is the only governing body that can change this particular state law, she said.

Jay Fisette, the openly gay chair of Arlington County’s Board, said politicians in Virginia should help Neff.

"It’s outrageous and predictable that in Virginia a same-sex family member and partner is being denied equal compensation," he said. "What Gov. Pataki did should be replicated in Virginia. The legislature should find the will and compassion to do what’s right."

Lawyers who work on behalf of gay civil rights groups shared different views about the extent of Gilmore’s legal authority in this instance.

Joe Price, general counsel for Virginians for Justice, a statewide gay civil rights group, said a state law that allows Virginia’s governor to act as director of emergency management also extends power to issue executive orders.

"There’s nothing in the statute [No. 44-146-17] that specifically addresses this question," he said. "But it says the governor has the power to issue executive orders.

"The language is broad, but it seems to say the governor can do what he wants in times of emergency," Price said.

Stephen Scarborough, staff attorney for the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund’s Atlanta office, said he’s not sure that Virginia’s governor has the same power that Pataki has.

"There’s a commission in Virginia" that oversees the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, he said. "It appears that the governor doesn’t have a role in that. But one would hope that regardless of what power the governor has, that all elected officials would be supportive of an inclusive benefit program."

Mark Warner, Virginia’s governor-elect, did not return repeated calls from the Blade for comment. Warner, the Democrat who defeated Gilmore in Virginia’s gubernatorial race Nov. 7, is to be sworn in as governor on Jan. 12.

David Smith, a spokesperson and senior strategist for the Human Rights Campaign, said that national gay political organization has been working to help Neff and others.

Foreman in New York said there are at least 20 gay couples nationwide facing similar challenges but there could be many more who have not come forward for help.

Smith at HRC said that while persuading Virginia officials to assist Neff is important, "we’re focusing our effort on the federal fund and making sure gay families will be able to access that."

The federal fund will offer families an opportunity to obtain the largest amount of money, he said, and those funds would be available sooner.

-- Lou Chibbaro contributed to this report.