President-elect Joe Biden has promised to "advance LGBTQ equality" by reversing decades-old criminalization of HIV exposure and transmission laws that have no "scientific basis" and contribute to stigmas. Biden said he supports legislation like U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee’s REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act, which seeks to "modernize" laws and policies in 26 states that have HIV exposure laws and characterize the "blood, semen and saliva" of people living with HIV as a "deadly weapon" – though as pointed out in the bill, HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva. Currently, 37 states have laws that criminalize HIV exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States like California and Washington have passed legislation to reduce the penalty from knowingly transmitting HIV from a felony charge to a misdemeanor. "In many instances, the continued existence and enforcement of these types of laws run counter to scientific evidence about routes of HIV transmission and may undermine the public health goals of promoting HIV screening and treatment," the statement continued.

Source: Fox News December 31, 2020 04:07 UTC