WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Eric Paul Leue will receive a Rainbow Key Award from the City of West Hollywood at a ceremony this afternoon. The Rainbow Key Awards are given annually to leaders who have positively impacted the LGBTQ community in West Hollywood, as well as globally.

Leue will be honored for his work fighting the stigma of HIV, and his advocacy for HIV prevention and treatment, including PrEP. In the past several years, Leue has conducted over 100 PrEP panels, nationally and internationally.

“This is a tremendous honor, and I want to thank the City of West Hollywood for recognizing the work we have done, and still need to do around HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment,” said Leue. “The adult community has helped lead the way in HIV prevention and treatment, and has been integral in raising the profile of the discussion in the mainstream media. We need science over stigma, and facts over fear. I am humbled to stand beside such an incredible group of honorees.”

The 2017 Rainbow Key Award honorees include activist Cleve Jones, who conceived the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt; Michaela Ivri Mendelson, a transgender activist and business leader; Jewel Thais-WIlliams, proprietor of the legendary LGBTQ club Catch One; Ruth Tittle, an organizer of Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing; the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; and JQ International, which advocates and provides resources for the Jewish LGBTQ community.

The ceremony begins at 6:00PM at the West Hollywood City Council Chambers, and is open to the public. The ceremony will also be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6rtMlm3YvY.