Dr. A. “Brad” Truax was a San Diego physician who dedicated his life to human rights, particularly involving the AIDS epidemic. He used his reputation as a doctor and his political connections to draw attention to AIDS as a worldwide public health issue, and worked to obtain better funding and laws to support people with AIDS.

Born in Pennsylvania, Dr. Truax graduated from Duke University in 1968. He received his medical degree in 1972 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and did his internship in Santa Clara. Dr. Truax specialized in aviation and underwater diving medicine in the Navy, but was honorably discharged in 1977 for being open about his homosexuality.

In 1978, Dr. Truax opened a private practice in Hillcrest with two other physicians. He was an important LGBT representative in local political circles,and advocated for the rights of the LGBT community, serving as a Carter delegate at the 1980 Democratic National Convention, then as president of the San Diego Democratic Club from 1981-1984. He also founded the United San Diego Elections Committee in 1981, and was appointed by Supervisor Leon Williams to be one of the first members of the San Diego County Human Relations Commission in 1985.

As AIDS devastated the LGBT community and Dr. Truax treated many people with HIV/AIDS, he recognized that the lack of awareness and education about AIDS would have equally severe consequences outside the LGBT community if the government did not act quickly. In 1983, Dr. Truax persuaded San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock to establish a task force on AIDS then drafted a strategic plan for the county on how to respond to the crisis. Dr. Truax served as chairman of San Diego County’s Regional AIDS Task Force until June 1988.

Dr. Truax, caring and dedicated, was also pragmatic and resolute; once he decided on the best course of action, he carried through with it regardless of controversy. While getting dressed one morning in June 1987, Dr. Truax discovered that he had a purple lesion known as Kaposi’s sarcoma, and subsequent tests proved that he was infected with the AIDS virus. He went public about his diagnosis a few months later, hoping that his story would influence more people to take precautionary measures and be sympathetic to those who were already infected. He received the Dr. Howard Brown Award, named after the founder of the Gay and Lesbian Task Force, that same year.

In 1988, Dr. Truax asked the Board of Supervisors to close San Diego’s bathhouses to reduce the spread of AIDS. His stance angered many LGBT community members who saw the ordinances as infringing on their already limited civil rights, however, Dr. Truax felt the nature of the threat warranted the intrusion. In September 1988, the AIDS Assistance fund named a six-bedroom home, used primarily as an emergency facility for AIDS sufferers, Truax House in his honor.

Seventeen months after his diagnosis, at the age of 42, Dr. Truax died of AIDS complications. The San Diego Regional Task Force on AIDS created the annual Dr. A. Brad Truax Award. The award is presented annually on World AIDS Day to persons or organizations who achieve outstanding results in political and social AIDS activism.