Hundreds protest AIDS funding in Washington

Hundreds of AIDS activists participated in a protest march to the White House in Washington on Tuesday to demand that the Bush administration give more money to both domestic and international HIV/AIDS programs, The Washington Post reports. Protesters called on Bush to pledge $2.5 billion to global AIDS initiatives. The march, organized by the Health GAP Coalition, the New York and Philadelphia chapters of ACT UP, and other groups, ended with the arrest of 31 people who linked themselves together with chains and lay down on their backs outside the White House fence. They were charged with conducting a stationary demonstration in a restricted area, which is a misdemeanor. Some protestors also carried fake body bags emblazoned with the words "Bush: Stop AIDS Deaths." Paul Davis, director of the Health GAP Coalition, said the protest was held because the president "has not kept his promises to respond to the global AIDS disaster. He's a man without a plan."