Local activist Ryan Burris passes away

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Local activist Ryan Lee Burris has passed away. This according to Cape Fear Equality and members of the New Hanover Democratic Party.

Burris was active in both of those groups over the years. The list of organizations that Burris took part in for his advocacy work is long.

“The fight is a never-ending struggle for equality for all minorities that are out there,” Burris told WWAY back in 2016 during the controversy over HB 2.

Burris was an outspoken advocate for the rights of people within the LGBTQ community.

Friends and fellow advocates took to Burris’s Facebook page sharing saddness and grief over his passing.

Annually he also worked to give back doing holiday toy drives.

There’s no official word yet on how Burris died.