1.0KFF Health Newshttps://kffhealthnews.orgbrilabuskeshttps://kffhealthnews.org/news/author/brilabuskes/'Our Friends Were Dying And The Government Was Ignoring It': LGBTQ Community Reflects On George H.W. Bush's Legacy On AIDS - KFF Health Newsrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="dewLQDa091"><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/our-friends-were-dying-and-the-government-was-ignoring-it-lgbtq-community-reflects-on-george-h-w-bushs-legacy-on-aids/">‘Our Friends Were Dying And The Government Was Ignoring It’: LGBTQ Community Reflects On George H.W. Bush’s Legacy On AIDS</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/our-friends-were-dying-and-the-government-was-ignoring-it-lgbtq-community-reflects-on-george-h-w-bushs-legacy-on-aids/embed/#?secret=dewLQDa091" width="600" height="338" title="“‘Our Friends Were Dying And The Government Was Ignoring It’: LGBTQ Community Reflects On George H.W. Bush’s Legacy On AIDS” — KFF Health News" data-secret="dewLQDa091" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">
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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.”