HRC Blog

February 7 marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). Appropriately, this year’s theme is “It Takes a Village to Fight HIV/AIDS!”

The following is from HRC's Senior Public Policy Advocate, Andrea Levario: Yesterday, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives followed through on its promise to bring up a bill to repeal the landmark health reform law passed last year. The vote on H.R. 2 passed 245-189. The Democratic leadership in the Senate has said it will not take action on H.R. 2.

Today we called on the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs to listen to mental health professionals and discontinue their newly adopted “12-step program” for gay men. The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that the diocese has adopted Twelve Steps of Courage, a counseling program for gay men based on Alcoholics Anonymous. Part of the program asks participants to admit they are “defective.”

In an interview yesterday with the Winston-Salem Journal, North Carolina State Representative Larry Brown said that the government should not spend money to treat adults with HIV or AIDS who “caused it by the way they live.” According to the newspaper, he went on to say he thinks the government shouldn’t spend money to treat HIV among people “living in perverted lifestyles.” Brown’s extremist remarks and prior anti-gay statements show that he is not fit to serve in elective office. The Human Rights Campaign is demanding that Rep. Brown apologize for his hateful statements.

Late yesterday, the President signed into law a continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through March 4, 2011 largely at the same levels as appropriated for FY 2010, which ended on October 1. Republican political maneuvering in this jam-packed lame duck session prevented the Senate from even considering the House-passed omnibus appropriations bill, which contained important increases for HIV/AIDS programs and dedicated dollars for implementation the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr.