Yesterday, I was talking with my French friend, and I learned something shocking about our government. My French friend had a friend who is HIV+ and he went to Canada to visit. Then he rode a bus from Montréal to New York, only to be stopped at the border and told to get off the bus. It was because he answered the customs form "Yes" to the question asking whether if he was HIV+.
Naturally, I was surprised that our government would ban HIV+ tourists from visiting our country. I decided to do some research and found out that US is one of the 15 countries that actively ban HIV+ tourists from entering our borders. It was a part of a legislation that was passed in 1987 by Jesse Helms in midst of the AIDS scare, and this law has not changed in the past 20 years.
Do you think that this law is extreme, given that the US is supposedly the most free nation in the world? Do you believe that HIV+ travellers should continue to be banned, because you think that they will actively spread the HIV? Do you think that this legislation should be changed to permit HIV+ tourists into our country, especially to fulfill their dreams to see what America is like?
Naturally, I was surprised that our government would ban HIV+ tourists from visiting our country. I decided to do some research and found out that US is one of the 15 countries that actively ban HIV+ tourists from entering our borders. It was a part of a legislation that was passed in 1987 by Jesse Helms in midst of the AIDS scare, and this law has not changed in the past 20 years.
Do you think that this law is extreme, given that the US is supposedly the most free nation in the world? Do you believe that HIV+ travellers should continue to be banned, because you think that they will actively spread the HIV? Do you think that this legislation should be changed to permit HIV+ tourists into our country, especially to fulfill their dreams to see what America is like?