Black LGBTQ+ leader derides Trump's cuts to HIV funding after State of the Union

"I'm here for every trans person that's been kicked out of our military and every person living with HIV that's denied their PrEP medication. I'm here for our community tonight because I've got to remind this country that lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and queer people, we've always been here and we are not going anywhere. This is our country too."

"There's nothing ordinary about them cutting billions of dollars from HIV prevention and throwing it into building more ICE detention facilities. We need health care. We need food. We don't need mass incarceration. And there's certainly nothing ordinary about this government murdering United States citizens."

"Trump's administration kills $258 million in funding for HIV vaccine research, guts HIV prevention program funding through states, and puts 127,000 lives at risk while potentially generating millions of new infections."

Kelley Robinson, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, attended the People's State of the Union to advocate for LGBTQ+ communities facing challenges under the Trump administration. She highlighted critical HIV funding cuts totaling $258 million in vaccine research and prevention programs, which threaten 127,000 lives and risk generating millions of new infections. Robinson emphasized that these cuts disproportionately impact Black Americans, the demographic with the highest HIV risk yet poorest access to preventive care like PrEP. She criticized the administration's priorities, noting billions redirected from health care to ICE detention facilities. Robinson also addressed broader LGBTQ+ concerns including military service restrictions for transgender individuals and medication access denials.

Read at Advocate.com