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Drag queen protester Wilson Gavin's suicide exposes horrors of online abuse
By Craig Johnstone, January 13, 2020

The suicide of a young conservative activist just hours after he ­attracted a storm of online abuse for leading a protest against a drag queen reading event for children has ­supercharged debate over the use of social media as a weapon to ­attack political opponents.

Wilson Gavin, 21, was openly gay but vehemently committed to conservative causes such as the ­monarchy and opposition to same-sex marriage.

His suicide followed a barrage of social media abuse over his role in the protest at a ­Brisbane council library on Sunday.

His death unleashed a wave of disbelief and sadness among both his supporters and critics — much of it expressed on Twitter and Facebook, the same platforms that carried the most savage condemnations of his actions following the anti-drag protest.

Mr Gavin led members of the University of Queensland's Liberal National Club in confronting performers at the library event at the weekend, chanting "Drag queens are not for kids". Footage of the incident was posted widely on social media channels.

It is understood Mr Gavin died at Chelmer station on Monday morning. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

A student activist with a high profile in pushing conservative views, he was forthright in his ­opposition to same-sex marriage in 2017, giving interviews in the national media and organising protests backing a No vote in the plebiscite held to decide the issue.

His role in that campaign ­attracted vociferous criticism, but he insisted there were thousands of gay people like himself who ­opposed same-sex marriage.

'They hate me because I'm a conservative, and they hate me more because I'm a gay conservative," he said in an interview on Sky News at the time.

"I'm not a homophobe. I love gay men. You can't call me a homophobe just because I'm opposed to same-sex marriage."

His role in disrupting the drag performer event at the weekend attracted similarly savage criticism and abuse from those purporting to represent the LGBTI community and others on social media, with some LNP politicians quick to say their party had no link with the group.

The member for the federal seat of Brisbane, Trevor Evans, ­labelled club members "ratbags", while Brisbane LNP councillor Vicki Howard said their actions were "appalling".

The LNP resolved to disendorse the group last month.

As news of Mr Gavin's death spread, LNP member for Dawson George Christensen announced he was quitting Twitter.

"Suicide happens when Twitter keyboard warriors pile on an individual for a political protest," he tweeted.

"Twitter is broken. It's for ad hominem attacks & pile-ons, not real discourse.

"And it's aided & abetted by the media. I can't delete the media but I am deleting my Twitter account. Bye."

Queensland Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said she would not make any comments in relation to Mr Gavin's death.

"Today is a day when we should all think about a bit of respect and compassion for people," she said.

Former Young LNP president Luke Barnes said he was angry and frustrated that the protest showed "intolerance in the name of so-called conservative values".

However, Mr Barnes, who is gay, said the protest and Mr Gavin's death showed that "people need to be careful about throwing the word 'homophobic' or other insults around so quickly".

A fellow member of the UQ Liberal National Club told The Australian they met through the Young Monarchist League in 2017.

"We disagreed over a lot of things politically. We were both part of the same party but Wilson was very socially conservative and economically left-wing at times due to his Catholicism," he said.

"He was kind of an odd fit for the party. He had a lot of friends, but also a lot of enemies, and that led to a lot of drama within the club which led to it being disendorsed by the LNP in December.

"He didn't care what others thought of him. He was a real political operator. But he did very much care about what his family thought of him. Family meant a lot to him."

The University of Queensland's Liberal National Club claims to be Queensland's largest right-wing student association. About 20 of its members took part in the protest.

Drag Queen Story Time is run by the LNP-led Brisbane City Council in partnership with Rainbow Families Queensland, with entertainers leading singing, dancing, reading and craft classes for children and their families.

Members of the UQ Liberal National Club stormed the event at the Brisbane Square library on Sunday, announcing on the club's Facebook page that the council should be ashamed for sponsoring the reading.

"What people do behind the closed doors of a nightclub is their business, but this event is designed to indoctrinate and sexualise young children. Our kids deserve better than this!" the club's Facebook statement said.

In defence of its actions, it said: "We stayed outside the room in which it was being held, waited until it was over to make our point, did not respond to the insults which were hurled at us, and left when directed by security."

The Facebook page was taken down on Monday afternoon.

In a statement, the University of Queensland said it understood the "events of the past two days are very distressing for many people".

"Our priority is to provide support for our students and staff who have been impacted," it said.

"Mutual respect and diversity are core values of the university, and we hope that everyone shows consideration for those affected during the difficult days ahead."

Drag performer Johnny Valkyrie said on Monday that the protest was hurtful. "Myself, drag queen Diamond, the Brisbane ­library staff, the families and their children were aggressively confronted by several individuals from the UQ Liberal National Club," he wrote on Facebook.

"(They) burst into the event space, shouting and making vilifying comments."

Later, the performer expressed regret at Mr Gavin's death.

"My heart goes out to the family and friends," he wrote on Facebook. "If the family are reading this, please know I support you."

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A bomb explosion has hit a military vehicle carrying Romanian troops in the Dand district of Afghanistan's Kandahar Province, a source said Saturday.

"A bomb went off on Romanian troops in the Haqdad Karez area of Dand district this morning, but no casualties were reported", the source told reporters.

Sources say the vehicle was damaged in the blast, and the area was blocked by foreign forces afterward.

The Taliban has taken responsibility for the incident, claiming, however, that the blast killed all the soldiers in the vehicle.

"A militant tank was completely destroyed in a powerful mine explosion this morning near the airport in Krow Shelley, in the Dand district of Kandahar Province, and killed all foreign soldiers who were in the tank", Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.