Bill Aims To Decriminalize HIV Transmission

Currently, it’s a felony offense to expose another person to HIV through unprotected sexual activity, but the legislation would lower that to a misdemeanor. “Having HIV does not make you a criminal and we shouldn’t be singling out HIV among all infectious diseases for harsher treatment,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener, a co-author of the bill.

KPCC: California Senator Moves To Rewrite State's HIV Transmission Laws

A bill introduced in California this week aims to cut back on laws that criminalize the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. Authors and supporters of the bill — titled SB 239 — argue the current laws around transmission of the virus are outdated, unfairly target HIV positive people and need to be "modernized." If enacted, the bill would put the transmission of HIV on par with the transmission of other serious communicable diseases, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. (Bloom, 2/7)

In other news —

The Desert Sun: With HIV In Its Grips, Desert AIDS Project Attacks New Foes

When a group of people in the early 1980s felt compelled to respond to the lack of help available to those dying of AIDS in Palm Springs, they retreated into the mountains near Idyllwild to devise a plan. They decided a dedicated charitable organization was the answer and returned to the valley floor to make it happen. Over the intervening three decades, that charity helped desert cities weather the AIDS epidemic while growing to become a national leader among HIV and AIDS groups with a budget of more than $20 million. (Newkirk, 2/7)

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