Day 19 of LGBTQ History Month
Content Warning: Homophobia
The 1980s were a decade wrought with homophobia fueled by the public’s fear of the growing HIV/AIDS crisis. Many people believed that the virus could be transmitted by mosquitoes, from public toilet seats, and through the air like a common cold.
In November 1986, Proposition 64 went on the ballot, calling to quarantine AIDS victims by forcing those with positive test results to publicly disclose their health status and enforcing limitations on these people’s access to education and travel. A Los Angeles Times poll published the previous summer found half of the public favored quarantining AIDS victims, and a quarter believed that “AIDS is a punishment God has given homosexuals for the way they lived.”