Eleven gay men living with AIDS take over the plenary stage at the National AIDS Forum in Denver Exit Disclaimer. They issue a statement on the rights of people living with AIDS to be at the table when policy is made, to be treated with dignity, and to be called “people with AIDS,” not “AIDS victims.” The statement is known as The Denver Principles Exit Disclaimer and serves as the charter for the founding of the National Association of People with AIDS.

In 1983, activists Richard Berkowitz, Dan Turner, Bobby Reynolds, Bill Burke, Matthew Sarner, Tom Nasrallah, Bob Checchi, Artie Felson, Phil Lanzarratta, Bobbie Campbell, and Michael Callen developed the Denver Principles manifesto, a historic first step towards the Greater Involvement of People with HIV (GIPA) principle, which promotes the meaningful participation of people living with HIV in decision-making, not as passive subjects but as protagonists fully involved in the response to AIDS. It outlined rights and responsibilities and provided recommendations to healthcare professionals,…