“BLAME REAGAN” IS THE OLD “BLAME BUSH”: Hidden History: Fighting Bathhouse Closures.

Why did the authorities not try to stop the spread faster? They did. Municipalities tried to close bathhouses down in the hot spots, but gays fought closure and even after they knew better about the disease.

San Francisco was forced to delay closing bathhouses in 1984. . . . [A] gay advocate cited that closing the bathhouses was just a ploy to push “homophobic political agendas” and another said constitutional issues were involved. . . .

In 1988, the bathhouses of Los Angeles were still fighting closures. . . . This was pre-red ribbon days, but thousands of gays were dropping dead from a disease primarily transmitted through sexual acts. The amount of self-delusion is high in the community and no higher than one of the bathhouse operators.

“We all have lots of friends who have died of AIDS,” said Myers, 53, a mild-mannered former beautician with a life-sized photo of a nude man on his office wall. “If we thought we were part of the problem, we could not look in the mirror. But we’re not.”

. . . in 2004, Los Angeles was back at it trying to enforce rules on bathhouses again due to the rise in HIV infections. A similar refrain can be heard,

… bathhouse owners and some gay rights activists argue that to close or restrict the bathhouses and sex clubs would infringe on the civil rights of patrons and business owners. . . .

Similar to the minimum wage propaganda that removed any culpability from the single mother of four, gay men shall not be responsible for their actions. As much as the media wants to use President Reagan as a symbol for straight, white Christian America that avoided the AIDS issue, it was the gays who were their worst enemy.

Earlier: CDC: 62% of Men Who Know They’re HIV Positive Have Unprotected Sex With Men.