Only three in 10 (30%) gay and bisexual men say they were tested for HIV within the last year, including 19 percent who report being tested within the last six months (these figures exclude the 10% who self-identify as HIV-positive). Gay and bisexual men under the age of 35 are twice as likely as those who are older to report never having been tested for HIV (44% vs. 21%). The CDC recommends at least annual HIV testing for this population with more frequent testing advised by many health departments.

Only about a quarter (26%) know about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a daily pill that people who are HIV-negative can take to lower their risk of becoming infected. Eight in 10 (80%) say they have heard “only a little” or “nothing at all” about the new prevention option.

Fewer than half (46%) of gay and bisexual men are aware that the current guidelines for people with HIV are to start antiretroviral (ARV) treatment as soon as they are diagnosed, and only a quarter (25%) know about treatment as prevention. (Research shows that taking consistent ARV treatment can reduce the risk of passing HIV on to others by as much as 96 percent.)

More than half (56%) say that a doctor has never recommended they get tested for HIV, and six in 10 (61%) say they rarely or never discuss HIV when they visit their doctor.

“These survey results underscore the importance of getting the word out among gay and bisexual men about risk and new treatment and prevention options,” said Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman, Ph.D.

Just a third (32%) realize that new infections are on the rise among gay and bisexual men. One in four (22%) think the number is decreasing and the rest either think the situation is staying the same or acknowledge that they don’t know.

Reflecting the disproportionate impact of HIV in communities of color, gay and bisexual men who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to say that HIV/AIDS is a significant issue for them personally than white gay men (64% versus 42%) and to say that they are personally concerned about becoming infected (53% versus 28%).

Overall, three quarters (75%) say that gay and bisexual men not knowing their HIV status is a major reason it has been hard to control the spread of HIV among this group. Complacency about HIV in the gay community (62%) and HIV-related stigma (56 percent) are also named by majorities as major factors.

Many say HIV is not a topic that comes up often, if all, even with those closest to them. Three quarters (68%) say they “rarely” or “never” discuss HIV with friends, and large shares report not talking much about the disease with casual sexual partners (50%) or with long-term partners (60%).

While most gay and bisexual men (76%) say they are comfortable having non-sexual relationships with HIV-positive persons, large majorities say they would be uncomfortable with more intimate relationships, including being in a long-term sexual relationship (66%) and having casual sex (77%) with someone who is HIV-positive.  Gay and bisexual men under the age of 35 are more likely to say they would be uncomfortable having relationships, sexual or otherwise, with someone who is HIV-positive. Nearly two in five (37%) gay and bisexual men who did not identify as HIV-positive themselves say they have decided not to pursue a sexual relationship specifically because the person was HIV-positive.

Just over half (53%) report being in a committed relationship, including one in five (20%) who say they are married. Twelve percent live in a household with at least one child under the age of 18.

Gay and bisexual men under the age of 35 are less likely to report personal connections to HIV than those who are older.  Nearly half (47%) of gay and bisexual men 35 and older say they have lost someone close to them to the disease, compared to only 8 percent of those who are younger. Overall, half (49%) of gay and bisexual men say they personally know someone living with HIV and one in three (32 percent) have had someone close to them who has died.

THE CURRENT STATE OF THE EPIDEMIC AMONG GAY MEN IN THE U.S.  According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  one in five gay men in 20 major cities is estimated to be HIV positive with about one third not knowing they are positive. KFF estimates, based on CDC data, are that 12-13 percent of gay men are HIV positive. There is evidence that the situation is worsening. Between 2008-2010, CDC reports new infections rose 12 percent overall among gay men, and 22 percent among younger gay men, driven by increases among men of color.

Photo of Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman, Ph.D. courtesy of KFF.

WASHINGTON, DC–The new stamp commemorating late gay activist and San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk will stand in history as the time for reflection and forward movement in the LGBT quest for equal rights. In a two-hour ceremony at the White House, Milk was remembered as a man who refused to quit, even while realizing the very real threats against his life. Multiple inspiring and emotional speeches were given at the ceremony, which took place on May 22, 2014, on what would have been Harvey Milk’s 84^th birthday, 

The first openly gay politician to be elected to office in California, Milk was assassinated in San Francisco on November 27, 1978 by city supervisor Dan White, who was eventually acquitted of murder and convicted on voluntary manslaughter charges.

“He did see this day because he dreamed it,” Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk said of his uncle. “It’s what gave him the strength to go into work with death threats, and to remain loud and remain with that call that we have to come out (and be heard).” Milk is president of the Harvey Milk Foundation, and said his uncle realized the importance that breaking through the gay political glass ceiling would have on gay rights 36 years later.

“It was a wake-up call, and, I think, today we can say we heard it,” Stuart Milk said. “It was truly Uncle Harvey’s dream that we could see a different paradigm resulting from both his assassination and that equally mean-spirited verdict. He hoped our justice system could be moved to not only uphold the rights of LGBT people, but to live free from violence and scorn, and maybe our justice system could even uphold the equality principles for our Constitution.”

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power was the highest-ranking member of the Obama administration present at the ceremony. (The President himself did not attend, He was speaking at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Coopertown, NY.)

“I get to work for a president who is identified with two words: hope and change,” Power said. “But it is hard to think of words that more succinctly describe Harvey Milk the leader, the activist, the fighter, the elected official. Hope and change is about a deeply held and proud American tradition: a tradition of toil to ensure the triumph of progress; a tradition of love winning out over fear. Hope and change,” Power said.

Power made reference to the on-going effort for passage ofthe Employment Non-Discrimination Act being pushed by the Obama administration. “While we now do live in an age where the National Football League has, for the first time, drafted an openly gay man, we still live in an age where the National Football League can fire him for being gay,” Power said. “Postage stamps will not change that. Legislation will,” she said.

The White House public engagement adviser and LGBT liaison Gautam Raghavan acted as unofficial emcee for the event. “I wish he could have grown old and seen the legacy of the hope that he breathed into so many of our lives,” Raghavan said. “And I think he would have liked being a stamp because he knew the best way to change hearts and minds was for people to get to know us.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) remembered that she had just been elected to Congress at the time of Harvey Milk’s assassination.  “I was thinking that day, ‘Is this how it ends? It this how it ends?’” Pelosi said. “But it really was the beginning, a sad sacrifice to pay, but it was the beginning of so much. And you all know what it is. I don’t need to elaborate.”

Milk appreciated the “fundamental American value of equality” and “cared about the rights of everyone,” Pelosi said.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who began his political career as a black civil rights leader in the 1960s, and voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, drew comparison’s been the civil rights movement and Milk’s fight for gay equality.

“The activism for Harvey Milk came of age during the last social revolution in American history,” Lewis said. “It was a revolution of values and ideas that started in 1955 in the American South and gave rise to other movements in America. Good trouble, necessary trouble, that’s what Harvey Milk got involved in.”

“It’s incredible to look at a time when running for San Francisco supervisor as an openly gay man seemed like a revolutionary act,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said. The first out lesbian to be elected to the Senate, Baldwin added. “Harvey knew that. He welcomed the attention. He weathered the insults. He shoved off the death threats. And it wasn’t to satisfy his own ambition, but rather to answer the call he felt to move the cause of equality forward.”

Baldwin too made reference to the NFL draft selection of openly gay athlete Michael Sam, and the kiss he shared with his boyfriend as live television cameras rolled. Specifically, she pointed to its appropriateness if viewed by children.

“We live in country where most nine-year-olds could probably explain that kiss to their parents without batting an eye,” Baldwin said. “They understand what love is. They understand what fairness is. America is ready to take more steps forward, but it’s going to take more acts of courage and conviction, like the ones that made Harvey Milk a hero.”

Other speakers at the event included Evan Low, a gay city council member from Campbell, Calif.; Torey Carter, chief operating officer for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute, and Ronald Stroman, deputy postmaster general.

After five years on the Board of Pride South Florida, Marc Hansen has resigned.

Citing personal and family health issues, Hansen announced his resignation on Monday, April 28. The Florida Agenda received the following statement from Hansen himself just before print.

“After over five years on the Board of Pride South Florida and many years as a volunteer, I have resigned. This decision was not made easily, but is due to my own personal health issues and also because my mother had a massive stroke on March 1, 2014, the day of Pride Fort Lauderdale, and I have been traveling back and forth to my parents’ home in Maryland, in between my own medical procedures.

While volunteering for this organization I have placed a lot of love, energy, time, passion, and belief in the work. I was giving back to the community.

Trusting that in some ways we were inspiring people. The time and dedication I gave for this organization and its mission was because I believed in the LGBT community of Broward County.

Being a leader for organizations like Pride South Florida comes with some praise and a lot of critics, but I and many others know that what I was trying to do was the best I could.

I became a leader in the community because I wanted to do good. Those that wish to push the hate probably do so only because they seem to have lost any love or compassion for our community so tearing people down gives them power, or at least they think so.

Fort Lauderdale is very different from what it was when I moved here in 1990, and it’s the volunteers that have helped make it into what it has become.

Volunteers, people that gave of themselves freely; without charge or expectation of payment. They gave their time, efforts, skills and knowledge for the betterment of our community. People like Dana Manchester, Nicki Adams, Chuck Nicholls, Jodi & Bradford of the Quilt and so very many others.

It wasn’t about making a salary, it is about our community and our fight to just be equal. We gave and worked because we wanted to help. We might have upset people along the way I know, but it wasn’t done with hatred or with the intention of hurting someone. It can happen during the passion while in the process of trying to complete the job. I know I never set out to hurt anyone, and if I did, I am honestly sorry.

I wish all the best to the Board of Pride South Florida, and their endeavors. I am not leaving the area, but I do need to take time to take care of myself and my family.

I have a loving and caring partner and home here which I would never give up.”

Photo by Big Dewitte

George Dumont, 19, posted a video to YouTube where he and a friend discuss how Dumont was kicked from Beta Theta Pi during the pledging process late last year. He also created a Tumblr titled “Worth Fighting For,” to tell his personal story.

The university is currently investigating the complaint, which was filed in February. Leaders of the fraternity said the rejection of Dumont had nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Beta Theta Pi chapters aren’t allowed to discriminate against sexual orientation, and according to a statement from Martin Cobb, a North American spokesman for Beta Theta Pi, the group has investigated Dumont’s claims and found no evidence of dropping Dumont due to his sexual orientation.

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, at least 7 percent of the fraternity identifies as homosexual or bisexual. Nat Jones, president of the UCF chapter, told the paper that a gay student who pledged at the same time as Dumont made it into the fraternity last fall.

“The men of Beta Theta Pi are certainly disappointed by the recent video statement indicating our chapter is intolerant based upon one’s sexual orientation,” Jones said in a statement to the publication. “Our brothers have gay relatives and gay friends, and we have long prided ourselves on being an inclusive fraternity that values diversity in all forms.”

Dumont said that he did not file a complaint with UCF until the beginning of February because he fell into a depression last year after being dropped from the fraternity.

“I had just been removed from a group of people I was very close with,” Dumont told the Sentinel. “Coming forward – I was nervous and even doubtful people would even hear me out.”

UCF spokesman Chad Binette announced on Monday that the issue is still under review by the school’s Office of Student Conduct, which looks into complaints brought against student organizations. Binette said the Just Knights Response Team, a group created to aid students who claim to be victims of bias, is “involved in working with the student and the fraternity chapter.”

On Tuesday, Dumont said he was set to meet with representatives from the fraternity in an effort to come to a conclusion, though he stated that at this point, he wouldn’t be interested in joining the fraternity.

Dumont recently told the publication, “I just don’t feel like it’s a good place for me anymore.”

“Being an LGBT friendly community, the largest development of its kind in the United States of America clearly shows Philadelphia is leading the way on human rights and LGBT rights issues,” said Mayor Michael Nutter. The development, spearheaded by LGBT activist Mark Segal, reportedly cost $19.5 million.

There’s already a waiting list for the complex, which features 56 one bedroom units that cater to LGBT seniors.

“If we don’t take care of our LGBT seniors, we’re not taking care of our community,” said Segal,” and that’s what real community is about.”

Segal says the model should be national, and what better place for senior housing than the Sunshine State?

“There is a group who is looking into LGBT low-income senior housing in Wilton Manors,” says Krishan Manners, President/CEO of Wilton Manors Development Alliance, which oversees a number of projects in Wilton Manors as well a new business ventures. “I can’t speak details yet because it’s all very preliminary. However, developers are recognizing the need and the market for this type of development.”

According to the Census, Florida has the greatest proportion of people who are 65 and older, with 17.3 percent of the state’s total population; That means roughly 3,283,890 people. While we don’t have an exact statistic for LGBT seniors in Florida, we can assume that there is a decent amount in that 3 million.

“To my knowledge, the City of Wilton Manors has no plans for a public/private partnership regarding subsidized LGBT senior housing at this time,” Manners told us. “While I can’t speak for our City Commissioners, I cannot imagine them not supporting a project of this nature as long as it’s deemed beneficial to the community.”

Holder sympathized with the LGBT community during his speech at the gala, where he gave both pats on the back and hope for the future:

“…You’ve stepped to the forefront of our national discourse, helping to mobilize millions to raise awareness about issues of concern to the LGBT community. You’ve spoken out for the rights and opportunities that have too often been denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. You’re calling for policies that stabilize families and expand individual liberty. And you’re doing it all in a manner that is enduring; that is predicated on an understanding of our common humanity; and that is founded on the singular ideal that has defined this country since its earliest days; the notion that all are created equal – and that all are entitled to opportunity and equal justice under law…On Monday, I will issue a new policy memorandum that will – for the first time in history – formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.”

Holder announced that those married in a state/city with marriage equality will now receive the same rights that opposite-sex couples do when testifying against spouses, declaring bankruptcy, and visiting correctional facilities to see their spouses. Couples are now eligible (the changes are already in effect) for a number of federal aid and benefits, which Holder went over in detail on Monday.

“Beyond this, the Department will equally recognize same-sex couples for the purpose of a number of key benefits programs its administers, such as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund,” said Holder in the statement. “Another key program is the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program. It provides death benefits and educational benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line-of-duty.”

Holder’s policy memo also states that “It is the Department’s policy, to the extent federal law permits, to recognize lawful same-sex marriages as broadly as possible, and to recognize all marriages valid in the jurisdiction where the marriage was celebrated.”

The policy change is a historic, monumental move for the country, where many states still have yet to legalize same-sex marriage. The new expansion helps to protect married couples in the 34 remaining states where same-sex marriage still hasn’t passed. For example, a couple who was married in New York can now file for bankruptcy in Florida, even though gay marriage itself isn’t legal in the state.

“This landmark announcement will change the lives of countless committed gay and lesbian couples for the better,” said president of HRC, Chad Griffin. “While the immediate effect of these policy decisions is that all married gay couples will be treated equally under the law, the long-term effects are more profound. Today, our nation moves closer toward its ideals of equality and fairness for all.”

“I came to tell the world I’m an openly proud gay man,” Sam said in an interview with ESPN.

Last season Sam was a hit in college football, playing for the University of Missouri. He was named the top defensive player in the Southeastern Conference, and was identified by the teammates as the team’s most valuable player, according to CNN. With praises like these, the chances of Sam getting drafted are looking pretty good.

“I understand how big this is,” said Sam to ESPN. “It’s a big deal. No one has done this before. And it’s kind of a nervous process, but I know what I want to be … I want to be a football player in the NFL.”

In the interview with ESPN, he said that he told his teammates about his sexuality back in August of last year, and surprisingly enough, didn’t experience any negative feedback.

“I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it,” Sam said to The New York Times. “I just want to own my truth.”

The NFL was quick to respond to Sam’s announcement via Twitter on Sunday: “We admire Sam’s honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL. We look forward to welcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”

Last week, Pavel Lebedev bravely unfurled a rainbow flag at an Olympic torch relay before being tackled to the ground and detained (within seconds of opening the flag). Lebedev told the Associated Press, “Hosting The Games here contradicts the basic principles of the Olympics, which is to cultivate tolerance.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview two weeks ago where he seemed to want to put the kibosh on the subject once and for all. Putin told ABC that Sir Elton John is an “extraordinary person regardless of his orientation,” before going on to say that he himself has several gay friends.

“It seems to me that the law we have adopted does not hurt anyone,” he said during his interview with ABC. “Moreover, individuals of non-traditional orientation cannot feel like second-rate humans in this country because they are not discriminated against in any way.”

However, Sir Elton John seems to think otherwise. In a recent statement posted to John’s website, the singer worries that the law is “damaging and divisive” to gay Russians.

“The people I met in Moscow – gay men and lesbians in their 20′s, 30′s and 40′s – told me stories about receiving threats from vigilante groups who would ‘cure’ them of homosexuality by dousing them with urine or beating them up,” the star said in his statement. “One young man was stalked outside a gay club by someone posing as a taxi driver who tried to garrote him with a guitar string because he was a ‘sodomite.’”

The openly-gay singer-songwriter is also concerned that the law will affect HIV prevention. “…Some of the vital work providing HIV prevention information to the gay community has been labelled ‘homosexual propaganda’ and shut down,” he said.

Sochi Olympic sponsors Coca-Cola are also getting a lot of heat from the LGBT community for supporting The Games. A South African website from the company, shareacoke.co.za, invites users to share a virtual Coke by typing their name into a box. However, if you type in “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual,” or “queer,” you’ll get an error with along with a surprising message: “Oops, let’s pretend you didn’t just type that. Please try another name.” Coke has declined to issue any sort of statement on anti-gay law.

In an interview with Rachel Maddow, David Letterman expressed a strong disdain for the law and the fact that The Games were still happening in Sochi.

“I was hoping that everybody would pull out and everybody would say ‘This is not right. This is medieval times. We’re not going,’” the late-night talk show host said. Maddow replied that “Being openly gay is itself an act of bravery right now … simply being open about your sexual orientation is a one-finger salut to Vladimir Putin.”

This is in part why openly-gay athletes want to participate in The Games. President Obama is sending three openly-gay athletes to the U.S. Delegation for the Olympics to make a statement, including figure skater Brian Boitano, hockey player Caitlin Cahow, and tennis guru Billie Jen King.

In a recent interview with CBS, King said “our first job is to represent our country and our president.” This will be the first time since 2000 that the president, vice president, and first lady haven’t attended.

“The Olympics are really, first and foremost, about the athletes, and I don’t want anyone to lose sight of that because these athletes have worked so hard,” King said. “Our job is to go and cheer for them and, you know, say, ‘We’re here to support you in any way we can.’”

King believes a female president will come soon enough, but a gay president, while possible, won’t likely happen in her lifetime.