HIV activist Mark King writes a pointed post today in his blog “My Fabulous Disease” titled “HIV Positive Criminals: Have Sex, Go to Jail.” Please check out his blog and watch the compelling videos included.
The subject matter is exactly what it says it is — it's about people who are prosecuted in the U.S. for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status to sexual partners. People with HIV can be prosecuted for “assault with a deadly weapon” or even under a state's bio-terrorism statutes, King notes in his piece.
This blog reminded me of a story I covered at the old Southern Voice in 2005 when a former Emory Medical student, Wayne Carriker, 27 at the time, was prosecuted in Atlanta and Fayette County after three men accused him of not disclosing his HIV status to them. You can read a summary of what happened in the Carriker case on this blog that includes the coverage from Southern Voice or here.
“It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”
— NBA Hall of Famer and now sports analyst Charles Barkley (Washington Post, May 17)
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, girls are so pretty and soft. No stubble burn! What am I doing with guys?’ I haven’t dipped back since, but I was very appreciative of the experience.”
— Actress Rashida Jones on kissing Zooey Deschanel in the upcoming film “Our Idiot Brother,” which she says was her first lesbian kiss both on screen and off. (The Advocate, June-July 2011)
Georgia Equality weighed in on the Chick-fil-A donation controversy this afternoon by posting a link to a petition hosted on advocacy website Change.org calling for the fast food chain to cease donations to anti-gay groups, including Focus on the Family.
The fast food chain has been accused of donating to other groups, such as the Pennsylvania Family Institute, an organization that attacks the “homosexual lifestyle.”
Georgia Equality wrote on its Facebook page:
“Change.org continues to pressure Chick-fil-A. You can sign their petition using this link.”