The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee Thursday over a law penalizing prostitutes for spreading the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), insanely claiming it is a “prohibited form of discrimination” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Tennessee law, which was passed in 1991, characterizes intentionally spreading HIV as “aggravated prostitution.” Specifically, this occurs when a person “engages in sexual activity as a business or is an inmate in a house of prostitution or loiters in a public place for the purpose of being hired to engage in sexual activity” despite knowing that they are infected with HIV.
A person convicted of “aggravated prostitution” faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Most of Tennessee’s prostitution occurs in the Memphis area.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released a statement claiming the law targets HIV-infected individuals because of their “disability.” Yes, in the eyes of the Regime, having a deadly, infectious disease counts as a disability.
The enforcement of state criminal laws that treat people differently based on HIV status alone and that are not based on actual risks of harm, discriminate against people living with HIV. People living with HIV should not be subjected to a different system of justice based on outdated science and misguided assumptions.
This lawsuit reflects the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that people living with HIV are not targeted because of their disability.
As the Daily Caller notes, the law also requires those convicted of aggravated prostitution to register as a sex offender for life. This means those convicted cannot ” live or accept employment within 1,000 feet of any school, daycare center, other childcare facility, or public park, playground, recreation center, or athletic field.”
The DOJ whines that such restrictions violate HIV-infected prostitutes’ “right” to “live, work, and go in public.”
The state attorney general’s office said it is aware of the complaint and will review it.
The Caller notes that the DOJ announced in December 2023 that it had found that the law was discriminatory and ordered the state not to enforce it. They waited until today to drop the hammer when Tennessee rightfully refused to comply.
Rebecca Bond, chief of the DOJ’s Disability Rights Section, wrote in a letter to Tennessee officials that since 1991, there had been “significant progress” in understanding and treating AIDS. She argued that this makes the law “outdated.”
“Beliefs and assumptions that individuals with HIV will spread it, or that having HIV is a death sentence, are now outdated and unfounded,” Bond wrote.
However, the Tennessee State Legislature is considering at least partially caving to the Regime’s demands. There is a bill currently under consideration that would remove the requirement for prostitutes to register as sex offenders if they knowingly have sex with HIV.
