Received this e-mail today from Senator Chris Coons (D. DE):
America’s laws should be based on modern science and not outdated fears.
The fact is: AIDS is now a treatable medical condition — not the death sentence it once was — and perpetuation of the stigma around HIV/AIDS is preventing people from coming forward to be tested. It encourages a dangerous culture of secrecy that will only prolong the disease’s presence in our communities.
Last week I introduced legislation that I hope will be the first step toward the eradication of criminal laws based on perceived exposure to HIV. Spitting, for example, is illegal for people with HIV in some states even though medical science has proven HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva.
We need to fight against discrimination wherever it exists, so it’s time for our laws to catch up to our science.
Join me in offering your support for this legislation, and let’s push back on the unfortunate stigma around HIV/AIDS.
http://tools.chriscoons.com/...
The REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act is an important first step in a process to rid our laws of statutes that unfairly discriminate against people with HIV. Thirty-two states have laws based on perceived exposure to HIV, and 13 states have laws that criminalize certain acts, like spitting.
It’s simply not fair that someone having been diagnosed with a chronic, treatable medical condition should automatically be subject to a different set of criminal laws.
The legislation has been endorsed by more than 150 organizations, including the Center for HIV Law and Policy, AIDS United, Sero Project, the ACLU, and the Human Rights Campaign.
Will you join them and offer your support for this bill and be part of the effort to end legal discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS?
http://tools.chriscoons.com/...
Thanks for standing with me in the unending pursuit of justice.
Best —
Chris