Most of us homosexuals were jubilant over Barack Obama‘s victory on Election Day, but one gay man in Key West was distraught—so distraught, it seems, that he took his own life.The body of Henry Smith Hamilton, 64, was discovered in his apartment by police on Thursday morning. Sitting on his bathroom sink was a copy of his living will with the handwritten note, “Do not revive! Fuck Obama!”
Hamilton, who was active in local AIDS charities, been depressed over problems with his tanning-salon business and was “very upset” about the recent presidential election, Michael Cossey, his partner of 11 years, said. “If Barack gets re-elected, I’m not going to be around,” Hamilton had apparently threatened.
Open bottles for Xanax and other prescription drugs were discovered in the home, according to police, but were in Cossey’s name. Cossey, 31, said yesterday that he didn’t think Hamilton had taken his pills but that he may have mixed other meds with alcohol.
The results of an autopsy are still pending, but authorities say there’s no evidence of foul play or trauma.
Eric Auerbach
C’mon, Queerty, what’s with the sensationalist headline? Clearly Obama’s victory was incidental to this man’s suicide. He seems to have killed himself because he suffered from serious mental health issues.
randallreynolds
What a self-loathing fool; not for killing himself but for doing so because the most Pro-LGBT President in History was re-elected.
Dakotahgeo
That man had other problems a lot more serious than President Obama’s re-election or the economy. He seems to sound very used-up and dried up. Sad that that is all he lived for. What a slap in the face to his partner!
Daniel-Reader
What a douchebag. Tanning gives people cancer so not a good business to be in if you care for people.
the other Greg
Did he leave a note mentioning what his Queerty screen name was?
MikeE
a tanning salon in Florida?
isn’t that a bit like a freezer salesman in Antarctica?
2eo
@the other Greg: I was wondering where Avenger was. I didn’t think he’d top himself though, I’d have been happy if he was fitted with a device that emitted an EMP every time he was near a computer.
Seriously though, the guy was clearly mentally unstable. The re-election of Obama was merely the opening of a window to give oxygen to a fire already blazing.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
in the midst of devastating tragedy let us draw a little comfort from the fact his sad death will not have been in vain; rather, his heroic self-sacrifice will bequeath a lasting positive benefit to mankind — along with a reduction in the incidence of tanning-bed related skin-cancer.
we salute you, hero.
Marjorie 0120
How sad for this loss of life, how equally sad is the callus attitude of those here that find the best they can manage is a flip uncaring attitude about the death of a fellow (gay), man. A man who was able to see the reprocussions of re-electing a socialist pig beyond the fact that it may benefit his gay life. I agree with those who feel there must have been other issues and probably some mental illness involved, my heart goes out to his family and lover. Regardless of reason, the loss of a loved one is always tragic.
Fitz
So Seroquel, the drug used, gets prescribed for psychosis. There is some off-market use for it to help with detoxing off stimulants also.. but in these doses, it was certainly that he had some serious psychotic disorder.
And he is dead. He didn’t die of being a gay republican. (personally, I hope all gay republicans either mend their ways or die). He died of suicide, probably triggered by a psychotic depression. I don’t think there is much joy here.
Mjl-428
what a dick move. hope he left his partner something, and that his partner can get it because I don’t know how florida is one civil unions, but marriage equality is granted there
DirtyOleMan
Misleading headline. Not another Tanning Salon in Key West aka tropical paradise? Bad business idea. The guy had mental issues regardless of Obama winning.
Jack E. Jett
I think many of us would like to fuck Obama but understand the time constraints placed on the President.
To write it on your will seems too little too late.
niles
Many of us have wondered about the particular psychosis or medical condition that causes gay persons to become members of a party that wishes to destroy them. Perhaps an autopsy will reveal some answers.
Evji108
People need freezers in Antarctica because if you leave your meat outside polar bears eat it. And people need tanning salons in Florida because if you leave your meat out in the sun it gets sunburned.
LaTeesha
@MikeE: Good point.
LaTeesha
@niles: I attribute it to the same condition that was discussed in the recent documentary, The Flat. Towards the end of the documentary a historian offers a possible explanation as to why his grandparents and Mildenstein were friendly before and after the war. His theories seem to apply to your question. Seriously. If you get the chance see the movie. The guy’s explanation really seems to answer your question.
BJ McFrisky
I have a question: How come this man is deemed mentally unstable, but gay teenagers who off themselves are all victims of bullying?
Yes, this man had issues . . . as does every other person, gay or straight, who takes their own life. Politicizing a tragedy is very unbecoming, regardless of your position.
Mjl-428
@BJ McFrisky: because until more information comes out, all we can do is guess with the given information. and given the comment he was said to have made prior to the election, and the little note he left, to me, he sounds like a dick for that. not as a big a dick as the recent CEOs, franchise owners, and what not for possibly laying off workers, immediately after the election, but still a dick for leaving his partner to deal with the mess
Mjl-428
@BJ McFrisky: but from reading the source article, I can say that he should’ve gotten better treatment for his disorders or somebody should’ve kept better track to see if he was taking them when he was supposed to, because obviously something went wrong somewhere and he went to an unnecessary extreme when he could’ve done something to protect his financial assets as a JIC measure
TJCMMNSNSE
The writers of CSI Miami must be kicking themselves right now.
alexoloughlin
I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of this. Jimmy LaSalvia, Chris Barron, all those self-loathers should pay close attention.
erikwm
64 and 31 is a very significant age difference and should be enough to at least take a cursory look at the partner if the autopsy shows any inconsistencies. The story seems suspect, but stranger things have happened.
Ken
I object to “most of us homosexuals.” I recently told a woman never to call a person a homoSEXual, because it reduces a human being to a sex act, and that is precisely why anti-gay hate groups overuse that term. Call be gay or queer, but don’t call me late to dinner and absolutely never call me a “homoSEXual.”
To paraphrase Number 6 in The Prisoner, I am a man, not a sex act.
alterego1980
I guess when your business and life is going down the shitter and you’re all delusional about it, you just need someone to blame. Based on how delusional a lot of republicans have been, I’m surprised we didn’t hear more of these stories.
Ken
@alterego1980: Mood disorders come from within, then seek justification in the outside world. You know with certainty that you are depressed and then you have to go on a mental shopping trip to find out why. Am I depressed because of A? No. Am I depressed because of B? No. Then after a few hours you decide that you are depressed by C. However, you can remember a day on which C occurred and you welcomed it as an invigorating challenge. Obviously, the depression preceded C and used it as an excuse
If Obama’s election could actually cause suicide, a lot more people would have been affected. There hasn’t been a mass suicide of Republicans, and Romney’s family is still in good health.
Obama’s election wasn’t the cause or the occasion for the suicide. It was the rationale for a suicide that would have occurred anyway. The man was sick and vulnerable, so just about anything could have served as the feather that pushed him over the edge of the precipice.
Rockery
He killed himself, yeah right!!! He’s 64 and his BF is 31? All this info is from him I assume? Someone needs to investigate the BF, he probably offed the poor guy, wrote the note and made up that silly previous comment. Let’s say he did say that, would you not check your husband? he must have seen signs of anger/dispair when it was announced (it was announced early enough that no one was asleep), if so why leave him alone?? Especially with that threat he made earlier. NONE of it makes sense
Lets get the handwriting experts out there ASAP
@Dakotahgeo:
“He seems to sound very used-up and dried up”
LMAO
Will L
Yeah, I can read a lot into this myself. The old sugar daddy’s tanning salon is going belly up and the old guy’s worth more dead.
The 31-year-old guy is on Xanax? They sound like a cute disfunctional couple. No 64-year-old in his right mind commits suicide over an election. That’s too trivial to a mature person. Mature people might threaten to move to Canada or secede from the union. 🙂
I’d be interested in a follow-up once the autopsy and investigation is complete.
WayDifferent
The overabundance of “relationships” with others 1/2 their age are tiring in the gay communities. One of these scenarios in my neighborhood recently resulted in the younger one being stabbed 57 times. That’s some rage! He died of course. Oh, they had a roommate too. Time to grow up if you actually do want to garner that respect and acceptance that so many seem to fight for. An ounce of self-respect might be in order as well.
In my 40’s now, I’ve noticed the pattern of some of us, of a certain race anyway, won’t even acknowledge each other on any level yet I’ve found myself literally being chased by “twinks” that assume we’re desperate and are rich. I’m not interested. These “relationships” cannot possibly be mentally healthy and this problem needs to be addressed. I think they call it the Peter Pan Syndrome.
Whatever the guy’s true problems were, having someone 1/2 his age around certainly exacerbated them. You don’t need a psychologist to figure that out.
Xanax? Stay away. I was on it for a brief period during some traumatic life changing events that I thought I could handle on my own. I also knew it was no time to get involved in a relationship of any type during that phase. I recently broke of a very brief relationship with somebody that popped those things on a whim thinking it was A-OK because they were only the lowest dosage. He was also a small guy. I knew better.