Gay Rights Activist Who Fought For Same-Sex Marriage Found Dead In Landfill

Jorge Diaz-Johnston, who was one of the activists instrumental in helping legalize same-sex marriage in Florida, was found dead on Saturday, Jan. 8, in a landfill, with police investigating the case as a homicide.

Diaz-Johnston, who was last seen alive on Jan. 3, was found in a landfill in Jackson County with the trash that was collected at 9:30 a.m. that day. An autopsy has been started to find out the circumstances of his death, though police believe that it was a homicide, Law&Crime reported.

Many individuals in Diaz-Johnston’s circle, including his husband Don, are being investigated for the death, though police have been careful to keep any details of the investigation under wraps and have said that they have no active suspects at the moment.

“There are just no words for the loss of my beloved husband Jorge Isaias Diaz-Johnston,” Don Diaz-Johnston wrote on a Facebook post. “I can’t stop crying as I try and write this. But he meant so much to all of you as he did to me. So I am fighting through the tears to share with you our loss of him.”

Jorge and Don Diaz-Johnston were part of a group of six other same-sex couples that successfully sued the Miami-Dade County clerk’s office for not allowing them to get married, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in the state in 2014, according to NBC News.

“For us, it's not just only a question of love and wanting to express our love and have the benefits that everyone else has in the state, but it’s an issue of equality, and it’s a civil rights issue,” Jorge Diaz-Johnston said at the time.

His loss has been felt throughout the community, with many calling him an advocate and fighter for the LGBT community with an important part to play in the legalization of same-sex marriage in America.

“In Jorge Diaz-Johnston, we lost a champion, a leader, and a fighter for our LGBTQ community,” Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, said in a tweet. “His tragic loss will be felt profoundly by all who loved him, as we honor his life and legacy.”

“My brother was such a special gift to this world whose heart and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come,” Jorge’s brother Manny Diaz, who served as Mayor of Miami from 2001 to 2009, said in a tweet.