California Proposition 64 (1986)

Proposition 64 was a proposition in the state of California on the November 4, 1986 ballot. It was an initiative statute that would have added Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) to the list of communicable diseases. The measure was defeated by a margin of 71% to 29%..

Activists associated with Lyndon LaRouche formed the "Prevent AIDS Now Initiative Committee" (PANIC) to place what became "Proposition 64" on the California state ballot. Proponents argued that the measures would merely return AIDS to the list of communicable diseases under the public health laws.

Opponents characterized it as an effort to force HIV-positive individuals out of their jobs and into quarantine.

Health professionals believe that Proposition 64 would seriously hurt their ability to treat and find a cure for AIDS. Current medical efforts based on years of research will be undermined by the fear generated by this irrational proposition." -Helen Miramontes, R. N.. President California Nurses Association

In 1988 the text of Proposition 64 was re-introduced in California by the "Prevent AIDS Now In California" (also PANIC) committee and appeared on the June 1988 ballot as "Proposition 69." It was also defeated.

A paid political consultant who was hired by the LaRouche organization to collect signatures for the PANIC initiative was convicted of fraud in October of 1988. The consultant, Stanley I. Dale, used out-of-state signature-collectors and claimed they were California residents.[1] Lyndon LaRouche was also convicted of fraud the same month in the unrelated United States v. LaRouche case.

See also: List of California ballot propositions 1980–1989

External links

• Los Angeles Times coverage:
• Medical Experts Assail Initiative on AIDS: Officials Dismiss Claims Made by Supporters of Larouche-backed Prop. 64 August 3, 1986
• Questions on Prop. 64: Clearing the Confusion October 29, 1986
• EDITORIAL: New Risk on AIDS July 15, 1987

• LaRouche media coverage:
• "The LaRouche-Bevel Program to Save the Nation" Chapter 13:LaRouche's Program for a War on AIDS
• HIV-AIDS Can Be Stopped! Executive Intelligence Review August 11, 2000 (Does not mention Prop 64, but argues for the same approach.)

• Other:
• Unclean, unclean – the plague mentality New Internationalist March 1987
• Prop 22 Causes Ballot Box Deja Vu
• The History of HIV and AIDS:Timeline PDF