Gay-rights lawyer uses fiery death to fight pollution
April 15, 2018
David Buckel's body was found in a New York City park with an apparent suicide note in a nearby shopping cart. The legal activist was well-known for campaigning relentlessly for the rights of LGBT people in the US.
Image: Getty Images/M. Makela
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David Buckel died Saturday after setting himself on fire in New York's Prospect Park in the borough of Brooklyn, US media reported. His body was found by early-morning joggers.
The prominent lawyer, known for defending the rights of LGBT people, used his self-immolation to protest pollution.
"Pollution ravages our planet, oozing inhabitability via air, soil, water and weather," the 60-year-old said in a note left in a shopping cart found close to his body. He also emailed the text to several local media outlets, including TheNew York Times.
Buckel's body was found near a jogging path in Prospect Park. Above, the park on a snowier day in early April 2018.Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Elshamy
"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."
Buckel added that he hoped his death would lead to greater activism: "Honorable purpose in life invites honorable purpose in death." He exhorted others to go beyond donating to organizations to achieve effective change.
"Many who drive their own lives to help others often realize that they do not change what causes the need for their help," the note received by TheNew York Times said.
Buckel devoted a large part of his legal career to fighting for the rights of LGBT people. He had worked as a marriage project director at Lambda Legal, a non-profit organization that fights for full civil rights recognition for LGBT people and those living with HIV.
In a statement, Lambda Legal described Buckel's death as "heartbreaking" and the attorney as a "beautiful human being."
"This is a tremendous loss for our Lambda Legal family, but also for the entire movement for social justice," the statement read. "He will be remembered for his kindness, devotion, and vision for justice."
Lambda Legal also highlighted key successes of Buckel's legal career, such as the unanimous ruling in 2009 by the Iowa Supreme Court allowing same-sex marriage — making the Midwest state only the third American state to recognize this right at the time of the decision.
Buckel's professional campaign for justice also inspired Hollywood filmmakers. He headed up Lambda Legal's defense team that secured justice from the state of Nebraska for the rape and murder of transgender man Brandon Teena in 1993. The case inspired the Oscar-winning 1999 movie "Boys Don't Cry," directed by Kimberly Pierce and featuring Hilary Swank as Teena.
After leaving Lambda Legal, Buckel focused his career on fighting for environmental causes, The New York Times said.
Ecuador became the latest country to allow same-sex marriage when its Constitutional Court ruled for two gay couples in June 2019. DW takes a look at some of the other countries that have taken the step.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/O. Messinger
2001, The Netherlands
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to permit same-sex marriages after the Dutch parliament voted for legalization in 2000. The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, wedded the first four same-sex couples at midnight on April 1, 2001 when the legislation came into effect. The new law also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/ANP/M. Antonisse
2003, Belgium
The Netherlands' neighbor, Belgium, followed the Dutch lead and legalized same-sex marriage two years later. The law gave same-sex partners many of the rights of their heterosexual counterparts. But unlike the Dutch, the Belgians did not initially allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The Belgian parliament passed a bill granting them that right three years later.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/J. Warnand
2010, Argentina
Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages when its Senate voted 33 to 27 in favor of it in July 2010. Argentina thereby became the tenth country in the world to permit gay and lesbian marriages. The South American country was not the only one to do so in 2010. Earlier in the year, Portugal and Iceland also passed same-sex marriage legislation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/L. La Valle
2012, Denmark
Denmark's parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of legalization in June 2012. The small Scandinavian country had made headlines before when it was the first country in the world to recognize civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1989. Same-sex couples had also enjoyed the right to adopt children since 2009.
Image: picture-alliance/CITYPRESS 24/H. Lundquist
2013, New Zealand
New Zealand became the 15th country worldwide and the first Asia-Pacific country to allow gay and lesbian marriages in 2013. The first couples were married on August 19. Lynley Bendall (left) and Ally Wanik (right) were among them when they exchanged vows on board an Air New Zealand flight from Queenstown to Auckland. France legalized same-sex marriage the same year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/Air New Zealand
2015, Ireland
Ireland made headlines in May 2015 when it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a referendum. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dublin as the results came in showing almost two-thirds of voters opting for the measure.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/A. Crawley
2015, USA
The White House was alight in the colors of the rainbow flag on June 26, 2015. Earlier, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the constitution guaranteed marriage equality, a verdict that paved the way for same-sex couples to be married across the country. The decision came 12 years after the Supreme Court ruled that laws criminalizing gay sex were unconstitutional.
Germany became the fifteenth European country to legalize gay and lesbian marriages in June 30, 2017. The bill passed by 393 to 226 in the Bundestag, with four abstentions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voted against the bill, but paved the way for its passage when she said her party would be allowed to vote freely on the measure only days before the vote took place.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/O. Messinger
2017 - 2018, Australia
Following a postal survey which showed the majority of Australians were in favor of same-sex marriage, the country's parliament passed a law to legalize it in December 2017. As couples in Australia have to give authorities one month's notice of their nuptials, many of the first weddings took place just after midnight on January 9, 2018 - including that of Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan, pictured.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Hamilton
2019, Taiwan
In May 2019, the island state became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The government survived an attempt by conservative opposition to water down the bill. Gay couples are able to offically register their marriage from May 24 onwards. President Tsai Ing-wen called it "a big step towards true equality."
Image: dapd
2019, Ecuador
The Andean state's top court ruled 5-4 to allow two gay couples to marry in June. The decision followed a ruling from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights affirming that countries should allow same-sex couples the right to marry.