David Buckel, prominent New York LGBT lawyer, dies after setting himself on fire
A prominent gay rights lawyer and environmental advocate has burned himself to death in New York on Saturday, reportedly using fossil fuel in a protest against ecological destruction.
The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found by passers-by in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Police said he was pronounced dead at about 6.30am.
The New York Times said it received an emailed copy of the note, which said: “Most humans on the planet now breathe air made unhealthy by fossil fuels, and many die early deaths as a result – my early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves.”
The Daily News reported Buckel left a suicide note in a shopping cart near his body that said he hoped his death was “honorable” and “might serve others”. In the note, Buckel said “I just killed myself by fire as a protest suicide”, the News reported.
Buckel was the lead attorney in a lawsuit regarding Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was murdered in Nebraska. Hilary Swank won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Teena in the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry.
Read more at: THE GUARDIAN
