The British man, whose husband died while on honeymoon in Australia and who then had the state of South Australia refuse to recognise their marriage, has had airport officials in Hong Kong attempt to confiscate his late husband’s ashes. David and Marco Bulmer-Rizzi on honeymoon in Australia, one day before David's death When making his way back to the UK, Marco Bulmer-Rizzi was stopped by airport security as he had no death certificate to prove his legal claim on the ashes. South Australian officials told Bulmer-Rizzi they would be recording his late husband’s marriage status on his death certificate as ‘never married’. They stated this is because Australia has not yet legalised same-sex marriage and overseas same-sex marriages were not recognised in the state. Bulmer-Rizzi told Buzzfeed News that at the airport he was taken aside at the security scanners and asked 'What's in this box?’ "She wanted to open the box. And I said, 'These are human remains. It's my husband. My husband died while we were in Australia.' She just looked at me and said, 'I need to take this away.’" "I felt like I was losing him again," he told Buzzfeed News, "All I wanted was to be able to travel with David's ashes on me so he wouldn't have to travel back by himself." He was eventually able to continue with his travels however says he is angry the UK government did not offer him help to avoid this situation. Bulmer-Rizzi was traveling with his late husband’s passport and a certificate from the funeral home confirming cremation. He had asked the UK Foreign Office for documentation to prove the marriage but the consulate refused. With a loophole now closed by the Foreign Office, a British nation in a same-sex marriage will have their spouse recognised on their death certificate should a tragedy occur in Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. These five countries did not previously need to provide “UK style” death certificates. The South Australian premier later apologised to David Bulmer-Rizzi and a new death certificate was to be issued after new legislation came through in the state.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 11th April 2016 - 10:03am