The AIDS outbreak erased the line between private and public life for many of those affected. How did this change the modern gay rights movement?
So many people found out they knew a gay person because their neighbor’s son, or their preacher’s son, or even their own son, had AIDS. For better or for worse, it forced a lot of people out of the closet, and forced America to realize that gay people come from every community, from every family. Harvey Milk felt that the most important thing gays and lesbians could do to fight oppression and stereotypes was to come out of the closet. The AIDS epidemic sped up that process dramatically.