First Man To Have His Same Sex Marriage Recognized Also His Divorce//Died of an OD

 
                   

Wayne Hincks 2013

 

An architect who was the first Britain to have a same-sex marriage legally recognized died after overdosing on a gay sex drug when they broke up, an inquest has heard.

Wayne Hincks, 48, had taken a lethal dose of GHB as well as another drug after his relationship with former partner Gerardo Gallardo broke down, the court heard.

The pair were the first British gay couple to be legally recognized as married in a ruling at a Canadian court following their separation. 

They underwent a civil partnership ceremony at Hackney Town Hall in east London 2009 and moved to Toronto.

But when their relationship broke down, Mr Hincks sought a divorce due to him being entitled to half their assets as a married couple.

It was following his two year legal battle that a senior judge in Canada ruled that it would be “impermissible discrimination” not to view them as married and claimed that the distinction in UK law between civil partnerships and marriage “violates human dignity”.

Mr Hincks returned to London when they split up.

He was found dead at his luxury canalside apartment in Hoxton on May 15 this year after taking an overdose, an inquest heard.

Mr Hincks, who held both Canadian and British passports, was found by a colleague when he failed to turn up for work.

Mr Gallardo only came to be aware of his former partner's death just 24 hours before the inquest began on Tuesday.

Mr Hincks, who worked at Camden-based architects Dexter and Moren Associates, had been rushed to hospital in similar circumstances four months earlier but his housemate, who later moved out, rushed him to hospital, saving his life.

In her evidence read out by Assistant Coroner Jacqueline Devonish, Wayne's colleague and friend Kate Sandle said: "Wayne started working at Dexter Moren in 2016 and he had an ongoing lung problem and he had collapsed before in late January early February where he nearly died.

"During this time he had a room mate living with him who took him to hospital.

"I last saw Wayne at work and he seemed fine."

Assistant Coroner Devonish ruled his death was caused by a GHB overdose and gave a conclusion of a drug related death.

A spokesman for Dexter Moren Associates said: "Wayne's sunny outlook and cheerful personality will be greatly missed along with his enthusiasm and dedication to his career in architecture."
Telegraph UK  {By Nicola Harley} 

o.canada.com (Randy Boswell) {{2013}}

An Ontario judge has controversially ruled that two Canadian men should be considered married in this country as a result of their 2009 “civil partnership” ceremony in Britain.Monday’s decision in the case by Ontario Superior Court Justice Ruth Mesbur, which showcased conflicting stands on the issue from the Ontario and federal governments, is being hailed in the U.K. as a step forward in the push for full, Canadian-style gay marriages rather than the more limited civil unions for same-sex couples currently permitted under British law.For 44-year-old architect Wayne Hincks, who went to court following the deterioration of his relationship with Toronto architect Gerardo Gallardo, the ruling strengthens his bid to obtain financial support from his former partner as an ex-“spouse” under Ontario law.“I’ve spent $50,000 to get to this point,” Hincks told Postmedia News on Friday from London, England. “And the point I’ve gotten to is having exactly the same rights as any other same-sex or married citizen in Canada.”Hincks and Gallardo met in Britain in August 2009 and were formally joined a few months later in a civil partnership — a form of union that encompasses virtually all of the same rights and responsibilities as a heterosexual marriage in the U.K., but is (contentiously) not called a “marriage.”According to an account of the relationship contained in the court decision, Hincks soon gave up his job in Britain and moved to Canada with Gallardo, who owned an architecture business in Toronto. They shared a home, but the relationship faltered and the two eventually split.Hincks sought a financial settlement, but has so far been denied that because — under Canadian law — the estranged couple’s civil partnership was not considered a marriage, and Hincks was not formally entitled to the full benefits of a legal “spouse.”Hincks launched a court challenge, winning support for his cause from the gay-rights organization Egale Canada and Randall Garrison, the NDP’s critic for gay and lesbian issues.In October 2011, citing the Toronto couple’s legal fight over spousal rights, Garrison challenged Justice Minister Rob Nicholson in the House of Commons over the federal government’s intervention in the case against Hincks, accusing the Conservatives of reopening the debate over gay marriage.“We have been very clear that we are not reopening the issue, but it is a legal dispute over definitions,” Nicholson responded at the time. “As the matter is before the court, I look forward to the decision of the court.”The Ontario government intervened in the case on Hincks’ behalf, arguing that he should be treated in the divorce settlement with all of the rights available to a legally married spouse under the provincial Family Law Act.