Eleven gay men living with AIDS take over the plenary stage at the National AIDS Forum in DenverExit 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 becomes known as The Denver Principles Exit Disclaimer [PDF, 19KB], and it serves as the charter for the founding of the National Association of People with AIDS.

In 1983, activists Richard Berkowitz, Dan…