The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

10 The Victims of Terrorism9/11 FSA employs a variety of methods to attract attention and support for its proposedlegislative agenda, which, unlike most other groups, has included seeking assistance from publicrelations firms and professional lobbyists. The Federation for American Immigration Reform,for example, gave the group a grant that enabled members to travel and lobby (Gadiel, 2006).In the fall of 2002, organization president Peter Gadiel (the father of a WTC victim) appearedin a televised political advertisement supporting Marilyn O’Grady, a Nassau County, NewYork, congressional candidate whose campaign platform called for more stringent immigrationpolicies (Sachs, 2002). On September 10, 2003, Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO), a supporterof 9/11 FSA’s efforts, organized a Washington press conference for the group to discussillegal immigration legislation (Spencer, 2003). Still later, Gadiel himself testified before the9/11 Commission on January 26, 2004, on “The Role of Non-Enforcement of ImmigrationLaw in Permitting the Terrorist Acts of September 11, 2001.” In this testimony, he accused thefederal government of failing to protect U.S. citizens by having long deprived the INS of sufficientfunding thus allowing the illegal immigration of over 10 million persons into the UnitedStates (9/11 FSA, undated).Although its impact is limited, Voices of September 11th (Voices) is considered a secondtierorganization because its leader and cofounder, Mary Fetchet (who lost her oldest son, Bradley,at the WTC), testified before the 9/11 Commission. Having begun as an informal organizationholding weekly support group meetings, Voices, also cofounded by Beverly Eckert,quickly grew following the opening of an office in New Canaan, Connecticut. A former clinicalsocial worker, Fetchet, in partnership with Eckert, created a group capable of addressingrelated issues of long-term mental health among the family members of 9/11 victims (Voices,undated). Given its community-based focus, Voices also organizes and provides informationalsupport and bereavement groups as well as referrals for mental health assessments and counselors.Its Web site includes a comprehensive monthly calendar of events sponsored by other 9/11groups for both victims and their families (Voices, undated).In addition to offering an extensive array of outreach programs, Fetchet and Eckert advocatedfor the formation of an independent 9/11 investigative commission and have outspokenlypromoted the implementation of various safeguards to prevent future attacks (Stoeltje, 2002).Fetchet served on the FSC and is a member of the SSC and the board for the Coalition of 9/11Families, the first two of which Eckert was also a member. As already discussed, the broad missionof Voices, seen to the same extent in FOS11 and the Widows’ and Victims’ Family Association(WVFA), is in fact uncommon as the majority of those organizations detailed have optedto pursue more narrowly defined initiatives in hopes of increasing their chances of success.In December 2001, Sally Regenhard and Monica Gabrielle founded the SSC. Regenhardhad lost her 28-year-old son, Christian, a probationary firefighter who died at the WTC, andGabrielle, her husband. Representing several hundred families of firefighters and other victimswho perished on 9/11, the SSC is dedicated to determining why the WTC towers collapsed,reforming New York City building codes, and ensuring that any reconstruction at GroundZero meets these revised safety regulations (SSC, undated). The SSC professional advisorypanel is composed of 13 members (including Regenhard and Gabrielle) with expertise in engineering,fire science, fire protection, and architecture (SSC, undated). As early as December2001, Regenhard had gathered 160 family members’ signatures calling for an independent