Quebec gay rights activist Michael Hendricks dies

Longtime LGBTQ rights activist and marriage pioneer Michael Hendricks has died.

On April 1, 2004, Hendricks made history when he wed his long-time partner, Rene Leboeuf, becoming the first legal same-sex marriage in Quebec.

They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of their retirement savings in their years-long legal fight to get the province to recognize same-sex marriages.

“Primarily they were doing it for themselves,” says Montreal LGBTQ journalist Richard Bugs Burnett.

“But they always saw the bigger picture.”

“It matters in our society,” adds Burnett, a longtime friend of Hendricks.

“Marriage affords you not just the rights and responsibilities of marriage but also the privileges of marriage, which include pensions.”

Spouses also have rights when it comes to medical decisions in life and death situations, Burnett points out.

“I remember Michael talking to me about back in the day when your partner died, you didn’t have any rights, and the family could come in and take all the furniture in the apartment. These are little things that a lot of straight people don’t think of, but they are everyday things that matter to gay people.”

Hendricks, a draft dodger who moved to Montreal from New Jersey, also fought for the rights of people with HIV and AIDS.

For years he worked with the activist group ACT UP to get the city of Montreal to create a permanent memorial to Quebecers who died of the condition.

One was built in 1994 on Ste-Catherine Street East at Panet Street, although for years it was the subject of potential real-estate development rumours.

In 2019, Hendricks fought the city’s plan to demolish the AIDS memorial and rebuild it in a way many were critical of. Eventually, the city relented and came up with a new design.

Even though some might say support for LGBTQ rights has become mainstream, Burnett says Hendricks never let his guard down, warning that complacency can be dangerous.

“Michael would tell us we must never forget the past or else we are doomed to repeat it.”

Hendricks chose medical aid in dying after a long illness. He was in his mid-80s.