Homosexual Activist Calls HIV "Gay Disease"

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Homosexual Activist Calls HIV "Gay Disease"

Special Report - February 18, 2008
A leading homosexual activist has admitted that HIV/AIDS is a “gay disease.” Matt Foreman, the outgoing executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), made the statement on February 8, during his “State of the Movement” speech at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Detroit, Michigan. Addressing 2,000 homosexual activists and their allies at the conference, Foreman noted the high rates of HIV among African-American men who have sex with men (MSM), stating: “Internally, when these numbers come out, the ‘established’ gay community seems to have a collective shrug as if this isn’t our problem. Folks, with 70 percent of the people in this country living with HIV being gay or bi, we cannot deny that HIV is a gay disease. We have to own that and face up to that.”

As Foreman conceded in his speech, MSM are at high risk for HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MSM accounted for 71 percent of all HIV infections among men in 2005 (this includes men who have sex with men and inject drugs). The CDC reports that the number of HIV/AIDS diagnoses for MSM (including MSM who inject drugs) increased by 13 percent from 2001 to 2005. Also according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which recently renewed a 15-year ban on blood donations from MSM, homosexual men (who have had sex with men since 1977) “have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors, and 8000 times higher than repeat blood donors.”

Later in his speech, Foreman seemed to contradict himself by also challenging his audience to oppose efforts to promote sexual abstinence, stating: “We deserve and demand an end to any funding for abstinence only programs. We deserve and demand a renewed focus on HIV education and prevention programs, particularly for African-American gay and bi men.”

North Carolina Family Policy Council President, Bill Brooks, stated, “While I applaud Mr. Foreman and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for admitting the link between homosexuality and HIV/AIDS, one cannot help but notice that many in the homosexual community continue their efforts to convince society, and in particular, young people, that homosexuality is normal and healthy. They also are among the fiercest opponents to abstinence education in schools. The fact is that homosexuality is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors that put individuals at an increased risk of many STDs, including HIV/AIDS, and even death.”

Brooks continued, “If homosexual activists really want to stop the spread of HIV and other deadly diseases in their community, they need to stop promoting homosexuality as normal and healthy, and start embracing prevention efforts that work to help individuals stop dangerous sexual behaviors that put them at risk in the first place.”