A Queens pol says she plans to push a bill that would no longer make it a crime in New York for AIDS patients and others with known sexually transmitted diseases to have sex with others.
“This archaic part of New York’s Public Health Law belongs in the trash heap of history, and I urge my colleagues in Albany to support this bill in the upcoming legislative session,” said Democratic Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas Thursday on World AIDS Day as she announced plans to try to repeal the 76-year-old law.
“New Yorkers living with HIV … already face barriers to accessing the care and support they need, and criminalizing them for sexual behavior only perpetuates racial inequities and stigma rather than combat transmission,” she added in a statement.
The bill has yet to be introduced but is already getting pushback.
“The last time I checked HIV is still a transmissible disease,” Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Long Island) told The Post Saturday. “Common sense dictates that the person you’re [having sex with] should know if you are HIV-positive, so they can decide if they are comfortable with it.”
Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo is pushing back against the measure.Facebook/Jarett Gandolfo
Under current law, a person with a known STD can be charged with a misdemeanor for having sex with another person and spend up to a year behind bars.
The state statute doesn’t specifically address cases where people with STDs disclose their medical status to partners or use protection. However, disclosing medical history first typically is enough to negate criminal liability.
Since 2014, at least 12 states have repealed or amended HIV criminalization laws.
Discovered on: 2022-12-03 17:19:22
Source: NYC’s Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas wants sex for AIDS patients legal
