Drag Queen Story Time disrupter Wilson Gavin dead
The president of the University of Queensland branch of the Liberal National Club (UQLNC), Wilson Gavin, who led a protest yesterday against a Drag Queen story reading, has died by suicide.
Gavin was found dead in Brisbane’s south this morning at 7:07am. Ambulance officers who attended say he died from critical injuries, but have provided no further details.
Gavin and a group of protesters from the UQ LNC interrupted a Drag Queen Story Time event yesterday morning in a Brisbane Library. Video of the incident went viral. (See our earlier story)
He also caused controversy when he opposed Same Sex Marriage in 2017. The then 19-year old openly gay Gavin led a “You Can Say No” rally and appeared on national television.
Social media has exploded with the news of his suicide. Family and friends describe him as having been “troubled” and “tormented.”
Johnny Valkyrie, who performs as the drag queen, Queeny, and was one of the readers at the Story Time event, posted an expression of support and grief on his Facebook profile:
“If the family are reading this please know that I support you, and I am here to gather support and I know you are good people.
“To those of you who follow me, if you require support please reach out to community services and hotlines which are freely available to the community.
“I cannot say anymore at this stage. I have to reflect on the events, heal and extend my love to the community.”
If you or anyone you know needs help or support, please contact:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467
Qlife on 1800 184 527
A sad and unnecessary situation all around.
The kid obviously had strong and unpopular views, but he had every right to if that was his thing. What seems so dumb to me about all of this is he wasn’t politically disempowered. He was a Liberal Party member, he had his own media profile, he obviously had the networks and skills to make his protest and even challenge the council via an orthodox process – writing letters, getting petitions signed etc. He never had to invade a space where kids were playing and cause them to be frightened, which I’ve little doubt is a part of the aggravation which must have been directed back at him.
This shows every sign of being a cry for help rather than a political action, yet his Liberal Party backers are all about the reaction to his stunt rather than acknowledging that they should have helped him rather than point fingers of blame now.
I have no sympathy for this man. He was an enemy of the LGBTQI community and a traitor to his sexuality
One less extremist to worry about. It’s rather a shame he didn’t take the others from his group with him.
Very sad to hear of this – a nineteen-year-old has so much more to learn as he develops. It doesn’t matter his politics – no one wants to see someone so young take his own life.
Meh… ????????
And I *mean* that with full sincerity. I really could not give a fuck.