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California Lawmakers Endorse A Repeal In HIV/AIDS Criminalization Laws [VIDEO]

By Alleah Kiamco | Update Date: Mar 10, 2017 09:25 AM EST

California Lawmakers are endorsing Senate Bill 239 of Senator Scott Weiner, District of San Francisco, to repeal and push for a change in the current HIV Criminalization Laws in the State.

Under the present law, intentionally infecting someone with HIV is a serious offense and is considered a felony compared to other communicable diseases which are only dealt with as a misdemeanor- a law which several lawmakers think as unfair and an injustice.

"It's time for California to lead and to repeal these laws to send a clear signal that we are going to take a science-based approach to HIV and not a fear-based approach," Senator Weiner said.

In the height of the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the 1980's and 1990's, there was an immense circulation of wrong information, ignorance and fear against it that contributed to the current law practiced in the State. Now, lawmakers want to make a change out of it because the bill was passed on without the grounds of research, study and correct information in a report released by the CBS Los Angeles.

In 2013, people in the State that are diagnosed with the disease were 376 per 100,000 of the population. Out of the total number, 88 percent were men and a lesser majority of women with only 12 percent, according to a statistical data of AIDSVu.

The bill has long been discussed due to the new science discoveries and how it is being transmitted and acquired. Various research and developments have been rising for the treatment and awareness of what HIV/AIDS is really all about. This will help pave the way to a better understanding of what it does and how the disease works to clear out misinformation and stigma, unlike to what happened in the earlier days.

A number of cases from 1980-2014, roughly 800, have been filed in the Criminal Justice System related to HIV. Most of it was charges against people of color.

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