Gay-rights lawyer sets himself on fire in protest against climate change

A popular gay rights lawyer and environmental advocate set himself on fire in protest against climate change.

The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found by passers-by in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, New York City on Saturday. Police said he was pronounced dead at around 6.30am.

The Daily News reports that Buckel left a suicide note in a shopping cart near his body that said he hoped his death was “honorable” and “might serve others.”

The New York Times reported the note 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.”

Prospect Park where Buckel’s body was found

Susan Sommer, a former Lambda Legal attorney who is now the general counsel for the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice in New York City, told the Times that Buckel “was all about justice, but he was also all about what it means to be human.”

Sommer added: “He was a very smart and methodical lawyer. He knew his craft and his trade and was strategic in how to build the blocks toward a sweeping victory.”