In two noteworthy nods to the LGBT community, Clinton made the surprise announcement that Ellen Degeneres will serve as US State Department's New Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness; and later she mentioned that we will only make effective progress against HIV stigma by "repealing laws" that criminalize and discriminate against people "based on their sexual orientation."

The overarching theme of her vision was that of an "AIDS Free Generation." To achieve this goal, Clinton charged the international community to join the US government in seizing this pivotal opportunity to turn the tide in the global HIV pandemic by redoubling our efforts and funding of HIV treatment and prevention programs, focusing on a combination of evidence-based interventions that will gain the most ground. In particular, Clinton mentioned three top priorities:

1. Reduce mother-to-child-transmission rates to "zero" (not "virtually zero," as Clinton remarked her speech writer suggested she say).
2. Scale up rates of voluntary medical male circumcision.
3. Scale up global provision of HIV anti-retroviral treatment.

Thankfully, she also underscored the importance of continuing support of other (very effective and far less costly) modes of prevention, including use of condoms, microbicides, and regular HIV testing in concert with these larger efforts. I often worry that in the ongoing battle among HIV/AIDS advocates over the supremacy of the HIV prevention versus the HIV treatment strategy, a battle that Clinton claimed should now be settled, we've forgotten that tried and true modes of prevention from decades past are still effective and must remain in our armamentarium. Yes, HIV treatment is effective in lowering viral loads and by extension preventing future infections. And yes, it appears that in the long-term it is cost effective to supply drugs globally to offset tremendous economic costs otherwise shouldered by countries ravaged by HIV/AIDS. However, the promising data we're getting about many new treatment-based interventions still should not trump or overshadow other, equally effective "prevention-as-prevention" modalities (e.g. condoms and good ol' education).

The study was spearheaded by Dr. Joshua Rosenberger, from the Indiana University's Kinsey Institute, and carried out in collaboration with Manhunt Cares, the research arm of Manhunt™, the well-known social networking site for men who have sex with men.

Researchers analyzed responses from nearly 25,000 users of Manhunt™ and DList™ who responded to a survey that included questions about their sexual practices and asked them to reflect on different types of safer sex educational videos, including more explicit approaches developed by the DC FUK!T Campaign (NSWF). The explicit DC FUK!T videos were compared to more bland, "condom on banana"-type control videos to answer the question of whether sexually explicit messaging is more effective in helping men to learn and retain information about condom use, STDs and other safer sex practices.

I'm currently working with the Velvet Foundation to develop an exhibition on the History of HIV/AIDS as told from the perspective of the LGBT community. Our aim is to develop this exhibition in advance of the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC.

As such, I've put together the following survey to solicit feedback in drafting a proposal and exhibition script. Integral to this process will be the input from a broad cross-section of the LGBT community; so please consider sharing your thoughts.

Here's the link: HIV/AIDS History Survey

For those of you not familiar with the Velvet Foundation, more about this fantastic organization follows after the jump.

As such, addressing health disparities has become increasingly in vogue, and yet the LGBT community somehow continues to fall short on this front. Case in point: the Affordable Care Act, which passed in March 2010, invests in the improvement of health data collection and analysis strategy. Section 4302 contains provisions to improve health disparities by requiring that all federal data collection efforts "gather information on race, ethnicity, sex, primary language, and disability status." Unfortunately, LGBT data requirements were not specifically included, but the law does provide HHS the opportunity to remedy this shortfall through collecting additional demographic data, as needed, to further improve our understanding of healthcare disparities.

HHS now intends to use this foothold to take the necessary steps to collect data on our lives - but that's only if we have the political will to do so and follow through with pressuring HHS to extend its reach on our behalf. I remain skeptical, despite recent encouraging news from the White House and the Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, that we will soon move forward on collecting LGBT health data to the extent we've been lea to believe. At this moment, when we should be accelerating our efforts on this matter, the pressure from the LGBT community seems to have noticeably waned.

Choi has reported that he is okay, despite having undergone what appears to be a far more harrowing and aggressive arrest than he has previously experienced during acts of civil disobedience in the US. He has since been released; however, he mentioned that the Russian citizens who were arrested with him would be detained overnight. Choi remains outside the police station in a show of solidarity with his fellow activists.

Pam Spaulding has been actively covering this story, providing regular updates and a live Twitter feed from Dan Choi. Also, for those interested, UK Gay News hosts the Moscow Pride Blog, providing a play-by-play of ongoing developments.

Earlier this spring, LGBT activists were more confident that today would mark the first legally sanctioned Pride parade in Moscow, after multiple attempts over the last several years were thwarted by the homophobic and corrupt former mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov. Luzhkov had been Moscow's mayor since 1992, and was sacked last September by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Activists were hopeful the absence of Luzhkov would increase the likelihood of them obtaining their permit. I, along with other friends more familiar with Russian affairs, spoke to Choi shortly before his planned trip, expressing some concern, given rising levels of violence and intimidation by authorities and anti-gay groups. However, Dan seemed optimistic that it would be better this time around.

As highlighted in the recent National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the plight of gay and bisexual men has taken a turn for the worse over the past decade. Once again, we have reached a tipping point in the course of this epidemic with the imminent rise of another major wave of new HIV infections on the horizon - the likes of which we have not seen since the early nineties.

Well, he has, with the July 14 release of the final strategy and implementation plan for tackling the domestic HIV/AIDS crisis. Although members of the HIV/AIDS community had much to celebrate on Tuesday, many remained frustrated that the plan took so long to pull together and fell so far short on adequately addressing some of the most urgent HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention needs that America now faces.

As such, Terry and I have chosen to focus our prevention efforts on gay and bisexual men; particularly younger men, who have no memory of HIV/AIDS as a rapidly fatal and debilitating disease and who are under the false impression that HIV is no longer life threatening.

This is a population that tends to ignore traditional public health messaging, so we've had to "get creative" to attract some attention. The goals of our campaign are:

1. To reduce the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections;


2. To educate MSM about the risks of of sexually transmitted diseases in a straight-forward, no-nonsense fashion; and


3. To promote responsible sexuality in the gay and bisexual community.

But due to proposed drastic cuts in the District of Columbia budget, the program is at-risk, just like those we are trying to help.

Of course, I timed my trek perfectly, meeting a crushing onslaught of Washington Nationals fans (I've heard rumors that their numbers have dwindled... not so much) as they made their way to the stadium for Saturday night's game. Needless to say, I looked rather out of place in my pristine white attire against the dingy backdrop of the Metro Station and the boisterous, motley-colored crowd.

I startled some children who probably mistook me for a ghost, as I pushed my way through the masses, trying unsuccessfully to remain inconspicuous. But I soon arrived at my destination, unmarred and ready for an Experience I wouldn't soon forget.

In the coming weeks, the health reform debate is sure to hit fever-pitch as decisions are made over the most contentious elements of the vying proposals. And it is in this context, during the committees' attempts to merge and vote on their respective bills, that LGBT Americans must struggle to find a voice to ensure their demands are heard.

Because the stakes are so high, the sense of urgency is so apparent, and the process is so complex, the needs of our community are in danger of being lost in the shuffle; that is, unless we are "fierce advocates" for inclusion in the ongoing health reform debates. Unfortunately, it seems we're so preoccupied these days with everything from DADT to ENDA, that I fear the healthcare policy ship will soon set sail, while we're left flailing our arms on the docks of health disparity.

Be sure to see Steve Ralls' excellent Bilerico post on lifting the ban, which includes a video on the topic by Immigration Equality.

A Little History on the HIV Entry Ban

In May 1987, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/CDC added HIV infection to its list of "communicable diseases of public health significance," effectively barring such individuals from entering the United States, except under certain instances in which discretionary waivers were issued. This decision was made in a climate of fear and uncertainty, surrounding a highly stigmatized disease.

The local gay, bisexual and transgender community is still disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. According to the recently updated DC HIV/AIDS 2008 Surveillance Report, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for more than 50% of the HIV-positive individuals living in the District of Columbia through 2007. However, because the District is now in the midst of a "severe and generalized epidemic," all groups are experiencing markedly higher risk for HIV infection and transmission.

Since the HIV epidemic has now become a community-wide problem, the local Gay/Bi/Trans HIV Prevention Working Group of the DC Center is seeking a community-wide solution by bringing together organizations that represent the spectrum of risk populations in the District to encourage everyone to get tested for HIV - the first critical step in stemming its spread.

A recent New York Times article demonstrates how closely these issues are linked for LGBT persons seeking health coverage through a domestic partner employed by the federal government. Whether the government must provide health insurance benefits to such individuals has remained a contentious issue since the mid-nineties, when the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed by Congress by a vote of 342-67 in the House of Representatives and a vote of 85-14 in the Senate and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. Specifically, the law has two effects:

1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.


2. The federal government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states.

The Working Group identifies gaps in the local HIV/STD prevention landscape, supports existing public health efforts, and initiates new prevention projects where there is a demonstrated absence and need.

Ultimately, the group aims to develop a coordinated strategy among the District's many and varied organizations doing prevention work for men who have sex with men (MSM). It also serves as a singular voice to the government agencies that determine which prevention programs are funded and how the public health needs of MSM will be met. More after the jump...

But that's all it took for him to become hooked and send his life into a tailspin. Before his addiction, Garza was living an ideal life, by most gay men's standards; he owned a three-bedroom house, two cars, and had a $60,000-a-year job with America Online. But that rapidly changed as his new addiction began to take hold, consuming everything important to him and ultimately leaving Garza with a hollow shell of the life he once had.