AIDS Activists Expose Themselves And The Naked Truth About AIDS Budget Cuts
AIDS activists entered the office of Speaker of the House John Boehner and demanded no cuts to domestic or global AIDS programs. Protesters also called for a Robin Hood tax on Wall Street trades.
PRESS RELEASE Contact: Amirah Sequeira, <tel:703-439-9369>703-439-9369 amirah@studentglobalaidscampaign.org
Seven Risk Arrest in a Naked Protest in Speaker Boehner’s Longworth Office
Washington, DC — Tuesday, November 27, a few days before World AIDS Day, seven AIDS activists entered House Speaker Boehner’s Office and stripped naked demanding a meeting with the Congress member. The activists from QUEEROCRACY, ACT UP NY and ACT UP Philadelphia painted slogans on their bodies instead of holding signs: “AIDS Cuts Kill” and “Fund PEPFAR, Fund Ryan White, Fund Global Fund, Fund Medicaid, Fund HOPWA.”
“When you strip away the rhetoric of the fiscal cliff and the grand bargain, you see that these terms are a way to thinly veil draconian budget cuts that will leave millions around the world with absolutely nothing,” said Cassidy Gardner from QUEEROCRACY.
On Thursday, Secretary Clinton is expected to announce a blueprint to end AIDS. The mandatory budget cuts will make this goal nearly impossible, resulting in at least 620,000 otherwise preventable deaths from HIV. The naked protest was timed to coincide with the World AIDS Day march of hundreds of AIDS activists marching from the Democratic National Committee to the offices of Congressional leaders to demand a stop to the sequestration budget cuts that will push the world backwards in the fight against AIDS. In May of 2011, the U.S. funded study, HPTN 052, proved that the AIDS pandemic could be stopped and we could see an AIDS free world in a generation if a small number of people were put on treatment around the world.
“The naked truth is that if President Obama and Congressional leaders like Speaker Boehner allow these budget cuts to lifesaving programs, global health programs will lose $689 million, while domestic AIDS programs will lose $538 million.”, said Eustacia Smith from ACT UP New York.
“Boehner and others in Congress think that they can gut lifesaving programs without any consequences. We are here to bare witness and expose the effect on their constituents.” said, Michael Tikili from QUEEROCRACY.
UPDATE:
The police arrested the only three women who took part in the action, even though they followed orders to reclothe. They have been charged with indecent exposure. They are:
- Cassidy Gardner – 23 yrs old, from NYC, Community Organizer for Queerocracy.
- Megan Mulholland – 23 yrs old, from NYC, Community Organizer for Queerocracy
- Jennifer Flynn – 40 yrs old, from Rhode Island, from Health GAP
Click here for downloadable press release for the march.
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Founded in 1987, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), is a diverse, non-partisan group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. ACT UP currently meets every Monday night at 7PM ET via Zoom. Notes: you will be asked to contribute your first & last name and email address to access online meetings, and KN-95 masks are required for ACT UP NY in person meetings/actions/gatherings. All individuals are welcome!
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