WASHINGTON – Speaker John Boehner’s office was overran by demonstrators today, some who stripped naked, to protest anticipated budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs if a deal is not reached to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
Three of the protestors, all women, were arrested for indecent exposure.
According to Buzzfeed one of the protesters, Jennifer Flynn, said, “We grabbed attention by illustrating the naked truth and by showing how people with AIDS have had, literally, all of the clothes off of their
backs taken away by these guys in Congress.”
Buzzfeed reported that Cassidy Gardner and Megan Mulholland, two community organizers for Queerocracy in New York City, were arrested, along with Flynn, who is a part of Health GAP in New York City.
“The reality is that these draconian budget cuts will actually result in the conservative loss of 600,000 people with AIDS‘ lives around the world,” Flynn said moments before being arrested, referring to several federal programs aimed at fighting AIDS here and around the world. “We’re talking about killing 600,000 people around the world if we let these budget cuts go into effect. And that’s just one year.”
