NPR

'Kinder Gentler Indifference': Activists Challenge George H.W. Bush's Record On AIDS

The AIDS epidemic was a full-blown crisis during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. While his rhetoric was softer than that of his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, advocates say his actions fell short.

As the remains of former President George H.W. Bush lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, LGBTQ activists and some journalists have been calling attention to his mixed legacy on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which was raging during his administration.

Bush died at the age of 94, on the eve of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.

The headlines have stood in counterpoint to the largely laudatory obituaries for the Republican leader. "George . "The Media Is Erasing George H.W. Bush's Catastrophic Harm To LGBTQ People," Michelangelo Signorile .

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