Wilfried Knight, an acupuncturist and porn star, has reportedly killed himself just two weeks after husband also took his own life, according to The Raw Story. Both men lived in Vancouver, Canada, at the time of their deaths.
Knight was a French citizen, who married his American husband, Jerry Enriquez, in Canada in 2011, reports Raw Story.
But the so-called Defense of Marriage Act made it impossible for Enriquez to sponsor Knight for spousal-based citizenship in the U.S. Desperately seeking a way to stay together, Enriquez found work with the athletic company Lululemon in Vancouver last year, and the couple moved to Canada, where Knight had full legal access to his husband's benefits.
But Enriquez was fired by Lululemon, and five months later, Knight came home to find his husband dead by suicide.
In a blog post written on March 2, Knight places the blame for his partner's death squarely on the shoulders of the U.S. immigration system. The post is titled "My partner's life and death and its lesson: U.S. Gay Marriage Must Pass on a Federal Level."
Speaking of his and Enriquez's nine-year relationship, Knight pulled no punches about the legal hurdles placed before them as a binational couple. Knight had obtained a student visa to pursue acupuncture, and the couple had been living in Portland, Ore., for five years prior.
"By the end of my studies, my visa was going to expire, and i would be sent back to Europe," wrote Knight. "No other way around it. Again, it does not matter whether gay marriage exists in California or Washington, if one is not American, it will not apply. Therefore if you are in love but not straight, you are fucked!"
After Enriquez's death, in a blog post March 3 taking Lululemon to task, Knight made clear his feelings about the unjust immigration laws in this country:
"Gay marriage should exist on a national/federal level," he wrote, "so that multinational gay couple[s] can simply live together as multinational straight couples do. Laws should change for any international gay couple: my partner net clear signs he wanted me to die with him, to follow him, therefore had no will after our 9-year relationship. My marriage is valid in Canada, NOT in the USA. Therefore his family gets it all, when I get nothing."
Two days after he wrote that post, Knight committed suicide, a friend confirmed to Queerty. Michael Mew, who Queerty identifies as "a close personal friend" of Knight's, said his friend was anything but a porn-star cliche, calling him "a funny man with a kitschy sense of humor."
"Up to the end, [Knight] expressed how he wished that no couple would have to endure what he and Jerry had to in trying to stay together," writes Mew. "They would both be alive today if America had gay marriage."
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, isolation, or thoughts of suicide, visit the Trevor Project's website or call the confidential, 24-hour hotline at 1-866-488-7386. In the U.S., you can also call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or visit StopBullying.gov.
