Laws Are Needed...

 

This link is among the numerous posts online for this today.  The article details the investigation & arrest of an HIV+ man from Idaho.  He sought to spread HIV to as many men & boys as possible.  He admits having sex with between 30 - 50 men & boys without revealing his actual HIV status.  Who knows how many he infected.

These men can get treatment.   Maybe they should've known better.  Maybe it's not a life sentence.  Still, the onus was on him to reveal, as much it was for them to protect themselves.   This man is going to prison.   He may not have killed these people.  But he destroyed their lives as they had known them.  Nothing for them will ever be the same.  

We need laws against purposely spreading diseases, whether it's HIV or something else.  No one should have the right to knowingly infect another person.  Especially with something that has no cure.

I wish finding out about this was surprising, but it isn't.   That's all for now.

Cya...

Again...

There were a lot of articles talking about a man being arrested for knowingly infecting his partners with HIV.  I'm not going to post these articles, Google them if you want.  However, it reads the same as every other piece like this.  Person knows they're HIV+.  They have sex without informing people.  The partners are put at risk.   The points don't vary much.  

IMO, anyone knowingly exposing others to HIV or other similarly dangerous illnesses should be prosecuted.  This person committed assault.  They also violated their partner by denying them the chance to give fully informed consent. These people should be jailed if they did this knowingly, with disregard of their partner's health & well being. 

That said, where is the other person's responsibility?  We've known of HIV for 30+ years.   We know condoms greatly lower the chance of it spreading.  There's also PrEP.  Why, if you're old enough to engage in sex, shouldn't you be considered enough of an adult to protect yourself?   

This isn't victim blaming.  This is asking when are we going to accept anyone could be HIV+?  Why don't we just assume every potential sex partner has an STI?  We have to be responsible for our behavior & the risks we take.  This man committed a crime.  His partners were victims.  This wasn't a forcible rape.  Unless he tampered with a condom, none was used during sex.   His actions were criminal, theirs were risky.  

Cya...

Deserved....

This piece is about a Florida man who was convicted on counts of failing to disclose his HIV status to others before having sex.   The article goes into the specifics.  He deserves more than he'll probably get.  Read the piece.

For those of you that don't get the issue.  What if someone offered you a ride home.  Shouldn't be a big deal, right?  What if the person offering you the ride knew there was a snake in their car & you got bit?   Still think it's no big deal?  Would it really matter in the moment that the snake wasn't poisonous?  Or would it just be about the fact, that someone let you get into their car knowing a loose snake was in it & you got bit?

Add to it, the guy in the article is proverbial, he's Florida Man.

Cya...

It Should Be Illegal...

California is kicking around the idea of decriminalizing HIV.  They want to do away with the law requiring people with HIV to disclose their status before being sexually active with someone.  They want to undo this law because there are now drugs for treatment & because it's embarrassing/hard on the person living with HIV.  

Screw that.  It should be illegal to have sex with someone & not tell them beforehand you're +.   I'm so sorry it's hard on you to tell people you're +.  If you're not adult enough to have that conversation, you shouldn't be having sex.  

People are saying that undetectable = untransmittable.   That may be the case in many instances, even most.  But you can only be certain you're undetectable right after being tested.  Your numbers can always change.  That's why we have regular labs drawn.   Just because your levels were undetectable  4 weeks ago, doesn't mean you are now.

Grow up.  Be up from about your status.  If you can't, don't have sex.  It is that simple,

Cya...

Fringe Hate...

This article isn't directly about HIV.  It's about the systemic under-reporting of hate crimes in this country.  This article primary deals with crimes against people of color, but also notes many other groups are targets as well, including gays.  

In this country, even though we have hate crime laws, most people don't want to admit hate motivated the actions of the perpetrator.   Somehow simply avoiding that admission is supposed to make it better.  But when the target is the black relative of civil rights activist on Martin Luther King day, it's hard for that not to be considered hateful.

The majority population doesn't want to realize how much hate they harbor for others or the "them".   They don't want to look in the mirror & see the seething thing that loathes others so badly as to bring them harm simply because they aren't the same.    Yoda was right.  

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.     Yoda - The Phantom Menace

Cya.... 

Responsibility...

This article discusses the possible parole of a man who is imprisoned for criminally transmitting HIV.  The victim is fighting his parole.  He's just 6 years into a 25 year sentence. As it is, due to work programs, time served & the like, it's likely he'd be out by 2020.  

Some feel it's to draconian to punish someone like this.  I'm not among them.  This man knew he was + & purposely engaged in activities that would transmit the virus.  He pulled the trigger & forever alter someone else's life.  He should pay.

It isn't draconian to make a criminal who causes grievous harm, sexually assaults or permanently traumatized another pay for their crimes.    HIV is no longer a death sentence, but it most certainly will end your current life as you know it.  Anyone who says otherwise is either ignorant or in denial.

People like this should have to serve the entire sentence.

Cya...