The Virginian-Pilot

© June 29, 2002

If a public safety officer gives his life in the line of duty, should he be able to leave death benefits to anyone he chooses?

The Bush administration thinks so. In a resounding victory for the libertarian wing of his party, President Bush signed a law this week allowing the $250,000 federal death benefit for survivors of police officers and firefighters to extend to any beneficiary named on the officers' life insurance policies. This includes same- or opposite-sex domestic partners. Previously, these benefits were payable only to spouses, children or parents.

While the Mychal Judge Act, named for the New York Fire Department chaplain who perished in the World Trade Center collapse, has drawn criticism from some conservative activists, it emerged from Congress with both liberal and conservative support.

Judge, described in news reports as gay, had wanted to leave benefits to his two sisters, who were ineligible recipients. The New York Fire Department has revealed that at least eight other firefighters who gave their lives on Sept. 11 had designated domestic partners or ineligible beneficiaries to receive the money.

As usual, those intent on policing Americans' private lives were outraged at Bush's decision. ``Homosexual folks see this as a first step toward recognizing homosexuality on the same level as marriage, and that's what it will be used for,'' the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition told The Washington Post. And Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation opined in the same paper, ``Putting the stamp of approval on a deviant lifestyle should not be the mark of a conservative administration.''

It is doubtful, however, that Sheldon or Weyrich would refuse the services of a gay firefighter if the house of either naysayer was ablaze, nor would they likely send away a gay police officer who had rushed to their defense.

A conservative administration -- particularly a compassionate one -- ought to recognize that firefighters or police officers willing to die in the line of duty to save others should, at bare minimum, be able to leave their life insurance to whomever they wish. That's the least the country can show for their services.