Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Unfair Treatment? Aid to Victims of Terrorist Attacks

This Article discusses why it is appropriate to provide aid to victims of terrorism. Part III discusses the rationales that underlie federal laws intended to aid terrorism victims. Part IV gives a brief overview of terrorism legislation and classifies the major federal laws under the two rationales explained in Part III. Part V presents an argument that we can best fulfill our responsibility to those who are hurt as a result of a terrorist attack against American targets by adopting a definition of victim that is broader than the traditional definition based on citizenship. Adopting a broad defmition of victim ensures that similarly harmed victims receive similar aid. Defining victims broadly recognizes the trend away from focusing on a narrow group of victims in a narrow set of circumstances and toward aiding a wider group of people in broader circumstances. Broadly defining victims creates more flexibility and more consistency in our terrorism response laws, so that these laws can help the greatest number of injured victims. Part VI presents a proposed definition of victim for incorporation into existing and new legislation