Article content

NEW YORK — A lawyer who burned himself to death in a grisly protest against ecological destruction was a nationally known gay rights advocate and lead attorney in a famous case involving transgender murder victim Brandon Teena.

The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found in a grassy meadow in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park at dawn Saturday, as early-morning cyclists and joggers strode by. He left a suicide note in a shopping cart near his body, writing that he hoped his act would bring attention to the need to protect the environment.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Leading gay rights lawyer burns himself to death in New York, in protest at ecological destruction Back to video

“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 an emailed copy.

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 wrote that pollution was ravaging the planet and hoped his death would serve as a symbol. But he was best known as a champion of gay rights. A 1987 graduate of Cornell Law School, he served as marriage project director at Lambda Legal, a national organization that fights for LGBT rights. In one case he led, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples and their children were harmed because they were excluded from rights granted to married couples.