Out Front Colorado: The 1980s - HIV/AIDS

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The beginning of the AIDS epidemic was marked by minor mentions – national news blurbs that seemed to have nothing to do with life in Colorado. But as the crisis escalated, so did Out Front’s coverage, reflecting the gradual but relentless takeover of Colorado’s gay community.

July 24, 1981: The earliest apparent reference to what would later be known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was a small national news blurb in this issue, headlined “Unique Pneumonia Strikes Gay Men.” The story went on to explain that “there has been a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia among gay males in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities in the last few months. It has taken the lives of several gay men in Los Angeles. … Officials confess their ignorance about what may be the cause of the outbreaks and speculate that it has something to do with the gay lifestyle.”[1]

First reference to what would be known as AIDS. OFC, July 24, 1981

October 16, 1981: The second reference to AIDS appeared when another national news blurb announced “Centers for Disease Control to Investigate Homosexual Sarcoma Cases.” But more local concerns had the community’s attention – a popular Boulder minister had just come out and the church was in an uproar; the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Colorado was celebrating its fifth anniversary; and the holidays were on the way.[2]

Second reference to AIDS. OFC, Oct. 16, 1981

January 8, 1982: Staff writer Phil Nash discussed concerns about hepatitis, giardiasis, and the increasing occurrence of Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis carinii, the rare form of pneumonia referred to in an earlier issue, among gay men.[3] But there was still Jerry Falwell to contend with on a national level, as he declared that Washington, D.C. “is becoming the Gay Capital of America.” And locally, the Colorado Department of Health stopped providing free STD screenings for gay men through the Gay & Lesbian Center of Colorado. The film Making Love, the controversial Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson and Harry Hamlin film about a married gay man’s emergence from the closet, filled the pages with ads and reviews.[4]

May 14, 1982: The unnamed “gay disease,” by then unofficially called “gay compromise syndrome,” continued to appear in national news blurbs, but there was no indication that it had arrived in Colorado.[5]

June 25, 1982: There was finally a name attached to the rare cancer and pneumonia that had been periodically reported – AIDS – and staff writer Phil Nash profiled a San Francisco activist who was dying of Kaposi’s sarcoma.[6]

August 20, 1982: The Gay and Lesbian Health Care Alliance in Denver formed specifically in response to the potential problems that AIDS might pose in Denver and the surrounding regions. No one was quite sure yet what those problems might be.[7] But by the September 17, 1982 issue, local bars were starting to hold AIDS benefits.[8]

November 26, 1982: Two cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma had been diagnosed in Denver by this time, along with two other confirmed cases of AIDS in Colorado. Gay men were told what to watch for, the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Colorado (GLCCC) established a rumor control system and a weekly support group, and community organizations began ramping up fundraising shows. Staff writer Phil Nash: “For several months, community leaders have anticipated the possibility that A.I.D.S. patients would be detected in Denver.”[9] By January 21, 1983, the number of confirmed Colorado cases was seven.[10] From this point on, there was either a local or national mention in almost every issue for at least the next two decades.

July 22, 1983: The first mention of AIDS on an OFC cover: “Jerry Falwell: AIDS Problem Fueling Lies, Psychological Terror from the New Right”; national AIDS toll: 1,641.[11]

OFC, July 22, 1983

August 5, 1983: 23 diagnosed in Colorado, and Denver’s rate of infection exceeded the national rate, more than doubling every six months. Colorado AIDS toll: 23 cases, 5 deaths, with 50-60 cases expected by end of 1984.[12]

December 23, 1983: Colorado AIDS toll: 31 cases, 10 deaths.[13]

Colorado AIDS toll as reported in OFC, Dec. 23, 1983

January 6, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 31 cases, 12 deaths.[14]

February 17, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 31 cases, 13 deaths.[15]

May 11, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 41 cases, 17 deaths.[16]

August 31, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 57 cases, 30 deaths[17]; a new focus on prevention emerges in the pages of Out Front.

September 14, 1984: The following notice appeared: “Colorado’s first diagnosed case of AIDS occurred in 1982, with a total of 7 persons that year. None of them are alive today. Of 24 cases reported in 1983, 13 persons have died, and of the 26 cases reported so far this year, 10 are dead. The person who has lived the longest with AIDS in Colorado is a person who was diagnosed in March 1983.”[18]

November 21, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 67 cases, 42 deaths.[19]

December 21, 1984: Colorado AIDS toll: 69 cases, 43 deaths.[20]

January 4, 1985: Colorado AIDS toll: 69 case, 45 deaths; national AIDS toll: 7,270 cases, 3,275 deaths.[21]

Colorado AIDS toll as reported in OFC, Jan. 4, 1985

December 2, 1988: Denver’s newly formed ACT-UP group was introduced to readers as “The Bad Boys of the AIDS Business.”[22]

January 27, 1989: Five days after ignoring pressure from ACT-UP and refusing to address AIDS in his State of the State address on January 12, Colorado Gov. Roy Romer quietly issued an executive order banning discrimination against those who are living with HIV.[23]

"Romer issues executive order banning HIV discrimination," OFC, Jan. 27, 1989
"Romer..." continued

February 10, 1989: Colorado AIDS toll: 874 cases, 510 deceased.[24]


AIDS reporting and obituaries continued into the 1990s and beyond.


Memorial cover, OFC, July 28, 1993


July 28, 1993: White lettering against a stark black background on the cover of Out Front:

Philip Lee Price

Founder and Publisher of Out Front

October 5, 1954 – July 18, 1993[25]

After reporting on the epidemic for over a decade, Phil Price was lost to AIDS-related illness – but his legacy lives on.

"In Memoriam: Phil Price," OFC, July 28, 1993
"In Memoriam..." continued

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References:

  1. ↑ "Unique Pneumonia Strikes Gay Men," Out Front Colorado, July 24, 1981.
  2. ↑ Centers for Disease Control to Investigate Homosexual Sarcoma Case," Out Front Colorado, October 16, 1981.
  3. ↑ Phil Nash, "From clap to Kaposi's: Gay men struggle to stay healthy," Out Front Colorado, January 8, 1982
  4. ↑ Out Front Colorado, January 8, 1982.
  5. ↑ "Hunt steps up for cause of deadly syndrome on rise among gay men," Out Front Colorado, May 14, 1982.
  6. ↑ Phil Nash, "The Final Closet," Out Front Colorado, June 25, 1982.
  7. ↑ "Local man named to national immune deficiency panel," Out Front Colorado, August 20, 1982.
  8. ↑ Out Front Colorado, August 20, 1982.
  9. ↑ Phil Nash, "Two Kaposi's cases diagnosed in Denver," Out Front Colorado, November 12, 1982.
  10. ↑ Out Front Colorado, January 21, 1983.
  11. ↑ Out Front Colorado, July 22, 1983.
  12. ↑ Out Front Colorado, August 5, 1983.
  13. ↑ Out Front Colorado, December 23, 1983.
  14. ↑ Out Front Colorado, January 6, 1984.
  15. ↑ Out Front Colorado, February 17, 1984.
  16. ↑ Out Front Colorado, May 11, 1984.
  17. ↑ Out Front Colorado, August 31, 1984
  18. ↑ Out Front Colorado, September 14, 1984.
  19. ↑ Out Front Colorado, November 21, 1984.
  20. ↑ Out Front Colorado, December 21, 1984.
  21. ↑ Out Front Colorado, January 4, 1985.
  22. ↑ Richard Tucker, "The Bad Boys of the AIDS Business,"Out Front Colorado, December 2, 1988.
  23. ↑ Richard Tucker, "Romer issues executive order banning HIV discrimination," Out Front Colorado, January 27, 1989.
  24. ↑ Out Front Colorado, February 10, 1989.
  25. ↑ Out Front Colorado, July 28, 1993.
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