A federal nod to gay partners: will Peggy Neff's award from the federal Victim Compensation Fund help all same-sex couples win more legal recognition? (September 11).

A check for $557,390. That's what Peggy Neff received from the federal government to help compensate for the loss of her partner, Sheila Hein, a Pentagon employee who was killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Neff and Hein had been together for 18 years and shared a home in Virginia.

While the compensation, announced January 22, seems small compared with Neff's loss, its significance as legal recognition of a same-sex relationship is big. "It's the first time the federal government has provided economic relief to a gay or lesbian partner that approaches that of a married spouse," said Jennifer Middleton of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, who worked on the case.

But how much of a lasting impact Neff's case will have--both for other gay survivors of September 11 and for gay rights as a whole--is anyone's guess. Because each claim is being considered individually, there's no guarantee the approximately 20 other gay survivors who filed with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 will receive compensation. Middleton said Neff's case represented the strongest possible scenario: Neff had both legal documentation on her side--she was named as beneficiary in Hein's will--and the support of Hein's mother, who wrote a letter to Special Master Kenneth Feinberg on Neff's behalf. "We don't know how the other [cases] will come out," Middleton said. "But [Neff's award] makes us hopeful."

Activists hailed the decision as a milestone. "It's the first time the federal government has recognized a gay or lesbian partner to this level," said David Smith, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. "And that in itself is significant." Still, Smith was cautious about reading too much into Neff's case or any others related to the Victim Compensation Fund: "Because September 11 was such a unique circumstance, I don't believe this is going to yield federal benefits down the road on a wider scale."

Lorri Jean, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, also saw the ruling as an important precedent. "I think [Neff's case] can be used powerfully in arguing that gays and lesbians should be considered for survivor's benefits and pensions," she said. "This is going to be immensely helpful in the future."

Small comfort

Important as it is, the money Peggy Neff (above) has received from the federal government can't ease the pain of losing her partner of 18 years, Sheila Hein.