STAT+: Gilead faces criticism for donations to state senators who backed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida
There was a curious dichotomy underlying the outcry over the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill that passed the Florida Senate last week: nine of the 22 lawmakers who voted in favor of the legislation had received donations from Gilead Sciences (GILD), the big purveyor of medicines to combat HIV.
Over the past decade, the drug company contributed a total of $12,000 to those nine senators, most of which was provided in 2020. At the same time, Gilead donated $10,000 to 11 of the 17 state senators who opposed the bill. Nearly all of the donations were made between 2014 and 2018, according to data from Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign financing and lobbying.
