Since the onset of AIDS 25 years ago, the gay community has tried to shake the label that HIV is a gay disease. However, a new campaign out of the Gay & Lesbian Center in Los Angeles has decided to own it, in an attempt to end it.

The controversial new ad campaign “HIV is a gay disease. Own it. End it.” is a drastic-times-calls-for-drastic-measures approach to HIV prevention and education, and for good reason. According to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, three out of four people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County are gay and bisexual men, increasingly Latino and black men. Even though gay and bisexual men account for 7 percent of the population of L.A. County, 75 percent of those infected in L.A. County are gay and bisexual. These startling statistics coupled with the deadening silence surrounding the topic of HIV within our own community, proponents of the campaign say, is why this type of message is necessary.

We’ve recently editorialized that not enough is being done to prevent the next generation of gay and bisexual men from becoming infected with HIV. How do we get the community to re-engage in the discussion with less government funding and greater restrictions on prevention? Is one way through controversy?

The L.A. Center will tell you that this campaign is not about taking a controversial position, but instead about telling the truth in a way that will reinvigorate a serious conversation about HIV in our community. People are having a conversation alright, but unfortunately not about HIV. Instead it’s about the L.A. Center’s decision to support this campaign.

Simply put, HIV is not a gay disease. In L.A. County, as in San Diego County, gay and bisexual men bear the brunt of HIV infections and death due to AIDS-related illnesses. We empathize with the powerlessness organizations charged with the responsibility of stopping the rising rates of infection must feel. And credit should be given to the L.A. Center for its guts to go against the grain and present a provocative message that has indeed created dialogue.

Just one problem: HIV is not a gay disease.

For decades, this community has struggled to change public perception that HIV is a gay disease. According to the campaign, in the early years of the disease, this was necessary because the government and health care officials were complacent, as it was largely gay and bisexual men dying. Since homophobia was so pervasive and deep, they argue, it was necessary to generate awareness that anyone, including heterosexuals, could contract HIV. Huh? We didn’t realize homophobia and stigma packed their bags and flew out of LAX for a more un-gay-friendly red state.

Let’s clear up some misinformation. The media frenzy surrounding the campaign may give the impression that billboards throughout L.A. County display the message “HIV is a gay disease” when, in fact, that is not true. This campaign appears in full-page ads in GLBT publications and on posters in gay bars. Billboards are only in West Hollywood and only display the tag “Own it. End it.” Placement is specifically designed to reach gay and bisexual men who are comfortable enough to pick up a gay publication or patronize a gay bar. In other words, men who have sex with men, who may not identify as gay, will be less likely to see these ads, and the same goes for the heterosexual community.

But is this sufficient? Can we say that this message will not reach men who identify as heterosexual but still have sex with men? With HIV rates on the rise in both the Latina and black women’s communities, this campaign feels like a step backward.

There’s been talk of taking the campaign citywide, where each community would “own it.” Areas of Los Angeles County that are predominantly black, for example, may see billboards or advertisements that read: “HIV is an African-American disease,” and so on and so forth. We encourage the L.A. Center to take this approach because the truth is all communities have HIV. We all need to own it to end it.