1 Jan 1981 Jahr - 1981 - The first case of AIDS was reported in the United States in 1981. Due to misinformation and a lack of effective methods to combat it, it would evolve into a massive scare that often targeted gay men to the exclusion of all others. It was thought that gay men were more likely to have AIDS, and as a result some portrayed it as a scourge from God. This resulted in a renewed backlash against gay men in the 1980s and a stigma surrounding AIDS that often precluded rational strategies to solve the issue.