US: New Hampshire gay group settles in HIV discrimination lawsuit

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

A gay rights group in New Hampshire has reached a settlement with a town it sued for trying to shut down a home for people with HIV and AIDS.

The town of Gilsum was sued by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region.

The legal fight started after Gilsum withdrew tax-exempt status from the Cleve Jones Wellness House and took action to seize its deeds for non-payment of tax.

GLAD said that while the HIV services group had filed its tax-exempt status application a few days late, other organisations in the town did the same and retained their statuses.

Attorney Bennett Klein, director of GLAD’s AIDS Law Project, told AP: “This case demonstrates that discrimination against people with HIV is hardly a relic of the past.”