Shawn Klein was in critical condition Tuesday after jumping in front of a subway train, just hours after making bail on child-pornography charges.
Klein was among the first gay couples to marry atop the Empire State Building in February.
The 52-year-old jumped in front of an uptown train at 3:20 pm and was taken to New York Presbyterian where he works as an hospital administrator. He was charged Monday with one count of possessing a recording of a sexual performance by a child, the New York Daily News reports, stemming from a November 27 incident.
He underwent surgery Tuesday night, a relative told NYDN. “The doctors lost him once on the table and they brought him back,” said Klein’s sister, Eileen Blanchard. “That’s all I know. We’re just waiting.”
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Blanchard said she had no knowledge of an arrest.
Shawn Klein married his longtime partner, Phil Fung on Valentine’s Day this year after winning the Empire State Building’s annual V-Day contest. They, along with Alaskans Stephanie Figarelle and Lela McArthur, were the first same-sex couples to marry atop the New York landmark.
“It was love at first sight,” Fung said at the time. “We have been talking about getting married now that gay marriage was passed in New York state, and friends of ours told us about the contest.”
According to Blanchard, Fung and a friend were keeping vigil at the hospital.
viveutvivas
I think putting a headline that tries to be funny, “Train in Vain”, on this story, is highly inappropriate.
BJ McFrisky
Golly how sad. Poor, poor pervert. My only regret is, the train should have been going faster so it could have assured this lowlife achieved his goal.
NateB79
I just hate that this will be fodder for the Christian right as further “proof” that we are all pedophiles that are out to destroy marriage.
stadacona
I’ve always suspected that white(gay & straight) men that are into asians tend to be pedophiles. I think it’s the smaller asian physical frame that they associate with youth. This case seems to confirm that. Don’t bother screaming racist, it’s over-used & doesn’t phase me.
deltabadhand
I don’t get why a gay wedding is the focus of the headline in a story about someone attempting suicide after being charged with something so henious. You’re asking folks to equate the two by doing this.
Adrian
@deltabadhand: Headlines are meant to shock and get readers to read the story. I think Queerty might have wanted to add the world “Interracial” to Gay Marriage to really push the envelope on a story where we don’t even know for sure if the man jumped in front of the train because of the police charges or because he was tired of being married. I feel for the people affected by Mr Klein’s selfish actions. He clearly needs lots of help.
mlbumiller
You all are so damn negative. First being charge with a crime and being convicted can and are two different things.
@BJ McFrisky: Your sick
ChiChi Man
Terrible, but has nothing to do with the thousands of loving LGBT folk who are getting married or who want to get married. There are screwed up gay people and plenty of screwed up straight people. And I’m with mlbumiller — I’ll wait for a conviction.
doug105
It’s only too easy to get some what’s called child porn and not know it back in my 20’s I bought a John Holmes film called Those young girls with Traci Lords(one of many film’s she made while underage it seem’s), The guy I bought it from was busted with it later and charge with kiddy porn and that’s how I found out to get rid of it.
@BJ McFrisky: Your a soulless waste of flesh.
mattydean
I had only just gotten to the point of giving Queerty another chance after I left when they were asking if Tyler Clementi preferred bears or twinks after his suicide.I see by the headline here nothing has changed. I’m seriously beginning to wonder if this website is run as parody by someone at Fox News. Best to just remove queerty.com from my browser history and forget it exists.
BJ McFrisky
@doug105:
@mlbumiller:
I can’t help but smile when someone would label me as “soulless” or “sick” while defending a pedophile. With people like you guys defending someone like this, it’s no wonder so many people think we’re all pervs. Way to go, guys. Way to go.
DuMaurier
@NateB79: Yeah, my first thought was “Any chance the NOM people will miss this–please!”
Black Bart in DC
I don’t know whether the guy is guilty or not. But I tend to think that people who are not guilty don’t commit suicide before they’ve even had their day in court.
That said, my real point: here’s why the American health care system is going to bankrupt all of us. Seemingly sane adult wants to kill himself. Jumps in front of train. Taken to major academic medical center where he’s resuscitated on the table. I say let the guy die.
RomanHans
Black Bart: You’ve taken insensitivity to whole new levels, aside from being irresponsible by using very little information to GUESS something that demolishes a man’s reputation.
BJ McFrisky: I have absolutely no idea why Queerty doesn’t delete your comments. Aside from being incredibly offensive, they’re also libelous, and I hope either this man or his survivors sue the pants off you. You cannot call someone who has been CHARGED with possessing child pornography a “pervert” or a “pedophile.” It’s ironic that you’re afraid he’ll give homosexuals a bad name, because I’m ashamed to be part of ANY group that you’re in.
MickeyP.
@RomanHans: I totally agree with you.There is good and bad,in all walks of life. I would imagine that just being CHARGED with this would be devastating.That alone might cause someone to attempt suicide.I’m not saying this guy is innocent or guilty. That’s certainly not for me or anyone but a court of law,to decide.But you always have idiots,who think they are judges and juries. While I am NOT defending this guy,at all,I will not condemn him,either.
DanteL
Queerty: You really need new copy editors if that headline is the best you can do. I realize that snark is your thing but you’ve gone to a new low when you’re taking a page from Huckabeast and his ilk. Suicide (no matter who commits it or why) is not funny. Grow the fuck up.
@BJ: Educating you is like trying to educate a shrub but let’s try: we have something called a Bill of Rights (along with the 5th, 6th, and 14th amendments of our Constitution) that create presumption of innocence so your not even remotely clever or funny line is just sad and says so much more about you than this guy. You’re just a sad little creature aren’t you? So much self-loathing and blackness about you. You spend so much time on this website spewing your vitriol that I doubt you have much time left to have a life or even try to get one. How ironic that you seem sooooooooo concerned with the bad name this guy might give homosexuals but yet I think you act this way because homosexuals want nothing to do with you either. Get some counseling. Go try and pray your gay away if it makes your soul feel that black. You aren’t fooling anyone honey…except maybe yourself.
BJ McFrisky
@DanteL: Gee, thank God you’re around to point me in the proper direction, otherwise I might not assimilate to the gay brain and actually think for myself.
And I have to say this . . .
TO:
@mlbumiller:
@doug105:
@DanteL:
The word you guys are looking for is the contraction YOU’RE, meaning “you are,” not the possessive YOUR. Criticize me for not jumping on the I-demand-gay-marriage train all you want, but at least I can recall the basic language skills I learned in elementary school (and if you need a lesson between THERE, THEIR and THEY’RE, I’m happy to educate you on the differences between those as well).
SteveSE
Have to say having just joined queerty I’m a bit taken back abut some of the comments on here about this guy that tried to take his own life.
The guy has been charged with an offense, but is yet to be tried and/or convicted of anything.
Supposition that because he jumped he is guilty is purely that, supposition …. in those circumstances those posting would only jump if guilty, and therefore it must be the same for everyone else. Hardly the strongest of logic or arguments.
Didn’t know the lynch mob system was still alive and well in the States …. although I do now