Many years ago, during the twin horrors of the increasing HIV/AIDS pandemic and the Reagan “Presidency,” the United States of America chose to ban immigration and travel to people with HIV.
The original claim was that this was done for public health safety reasons, but I think it’s pretty clear that it was done out of basic homophobia, with a smidgen of fear thrown in. We’d just stopped calling AIDS “GRID” … Gay Related Immune Deficiency. Reagan was no great supporter of gays in particular.
A bill has made it through the Senate that would repeal that ban. It appeared to have good support and sponsorship from both major parties.
It’s about time.
I mentioned this in chat, and to my horror, if not shock, one of the local chatters, sfnoe* said, “They should have used a condom.” As this was a gay oriented chat room, it was particularly horrific. Cold, unfeeling … blame the person who is sick.
“We don’t let people with TB in,” this person continued. How unmindful of the difference in how communicable TB is versus HIV can one be? And if the rule is “you need to use a condom,” then what’s the fear with HIV?
Beyond that, we don’t stop people with a host of other diseases from coming in, and we’re one of only about a dozen countries that bans travel/immigration based on HIV status. And the company we keep on that list is not pretty.
It’s disappointing to see that kind cold hate of a group from someone who has known cold hatred for being part of another group (non-heterosexuals). I’m not shocked, because that’s the “straighting” of gay people that is going on today. That, however, is a rant for another time.
Repeal the Immigration Ban for HIV. Good for the Senate.
(Reminder: name* is an abbreviated chat name.)
