AIDS Activists Protest at Capitol

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Activists Protest at Capitol

United Press International (10/29/93) (Sorensen, Andy)

Sacramento--More than 90 activists from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) staged a political funeral Friday before the Capitol to protest California Gov. Pete Wilson's policy towards people with AIDS. The group accused Wilson of cutting AIDS funding, and denounced his veto of a needle exchange bill that would have provided clean syringes to intravenous drug users who turned in dirty ones. Dressed in black and pulling a rolling casket to symbolize those who have died from AIDS, the protestors chanted "Pete Wilson you can't hide, we charge you with homicide." They were prevented from reaching the Capitol steps by a wall of police in riot gear and on horseback, and a brief clash ensued in which five members of ACT-UP were injured. The protest ended shortly after a woman sprinkled into the air the final ashes of a man who died of AIDS. "Until the government is willing to implement preventive measures, we're going to get nowhere in fighting the spread of this dreadful disease," said event organizer Edward Wold. Shannon Bowman, spokesperson for the state Health and Welfare Agency, defended Wilson's veto of the needle exchange bill. "The governor is spending millions of dollars on saying it is wrong to use drugs," she said, adding that evidence that the programs reduce the spread of the virus "was not clear enough to send a mixed message." Bowman also refuted claims that the governor cut AIDS spending. She asserted that spending has increased from $115 million to $148 million in the past three years.

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