Bush Names Extremist Who Called AIDS "Gay Plague" to AIDS Panel

George W. Bush nominated Jerry Thacker, a right-wing evangelical Christian who has called AIDS the "gay plague," to the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV and AIDS. Although Thacker withdrew his name from consideration on Jan. 23, shortly after his deplorable comments came to light, many questions remain about his nomination. Thacker—who attended Bob Jones University, which until recently banned interracial dating—has also called homosexuality a "deathstyle."

Source: Washington Post, "AIDS Panel Choice Wrote of a 'Gay Plague'," Ceci Connolly, Jan. 24, 2003