Activist lawyer dies in ecology protest
David Buckel, 60, was best known for work in fight for LGBTQ rights
NEW YORK— A l awyer who burned himself to death in a grisly protest against ecological destruction was a well-known LGBTQ rights advocate and lead attorney in a famous case involving transgender murder victim Brandon Teena.
The remains of David Buckel, 60, were found in a meadow in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park at dawn on Saturday, as morning cyclists and joggers passed. He left a note nearby, writing that he hoped his act would bring attention to the need to protect the environment.
“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 note read, according to the New York Times, which received a copy.
Buckel was best known as a champion of LGBTQ rights. he served as marriage project director at Lambda Legal, a organization involved in the fight. In one case he led, a court ruled that same-sex couples and their children were harmed because they were excluded from rights granted to married couples.