‘Our Friends Were Dying And The Government Was Ignoring It’: LGBTQ Community Reflects On George H.W. Bush’s Legacy On AIDS

Although former President George H.W. Bush, who died over the weekend, took two major steps to address the AIDS epidemic, advocates say they fell far short of what was needed at the time. “I know this week it feels like we’re the skunk at the ‘Celebrate George Bush’ party, but this was our reality: We were kids and our friends were dying and the government was ignoring it because they were gay,” said Hilary Rosen, who lobbied for the Human Rights Campaign during the Bush administration. “He just didn’t lead at a time when we were desperate for leaders.”

The New York Times: ‘He Did Not Lead On AIDS’: For Bush, Activists See A Mixed Legacy

The death of George Bush on the eve of World AIDS Day was a painful reminder for some of the most lethal days of the epidemic, when people — predominantly gay and bisexual — were struck down by an illness that few in the White House seemed to lose sleep over. For them, the 41st president was a slow-moving leader whose response to the crisis was hard to separate from his public uneasiness with gay men and lesbians. “If one was being charitable one could say it was a mixed legacy, but in truth it was a bad legacy of leadership,” said Urvashi Vaid, who led the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force from 1989 to 1992. “He did not lead on AIDS.” (Stack, 12/3)

In other news —

The Associated Press: Kansas Sees LGBT Milestones, Yet Big Change May Come Slowly

Kansas will swear in its first two openly LGBT state lawmakers next month and the new Democratic governor promises to end a ban on discrimination over sexual orientation or gender identity in state hiring and employment decisions once she takes office. Yet other goals for LGBT-rights activists, such as expanding the state's anti-discrimination law covering landlords and private employers, might not be much closer to fruition — despite a historic national wave of victories by LGBT candidates and Gov.-elect Laura Kelly's promise to break with Republican predecessors on policy. (Hanna, 12/3)

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