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1he 8LLAL (''8epeal LxlsLlng ollcles LhaL Lncourage and Allow Legal") Plv ulscrlmlnaLlon AcL, lnLroduced by
Congresswoman 8arbara Lee, addresses Lhe serlous problem of dlscrlmlnaLlon ln Lhe use of crlmlnal and clvll
commlLmenL laws agalnsL Lhose who LesL poslLlve for Plv. 1hls blll creaLes lncenLlves and supporL for sLaLes Lo
reform exlsLlng pollcles LhaL use Lhe crlmlnal law Lo LargeL people llvlng wlLh Plv for felony charges and severe
punlshmenLs for behavlor LhaL ls oLherwlse legal (such as consensual sex beLween adulLs) or LhaL poses no
measurable rlsk of Plv Lransmlsslon.
Why CrlmlnallzaLlon of Plv ls a roblem
! 34 sLaLes and 2 u.S. LerrlLorles have crlmlnal sLaLuLes based on percelved exposure Lo Plv, and
prosecuLlons for alleged exposure Lo Plv have occurred ln aL leasL 39 sLaLes.
! Parsh crlmlnal senLences have been lmposed on many people llvlng wlLh Plv, frequenLly ln Lhe absence of
Plv Lransmlsslon or even a serlous rlsk LhaL lL could occur.
! 1hese laws and prosecuLlons are based on long-ouLdaLed bellefs abouL Lhe rouLes and rlsks of Plv
Lransmlsslon and abouL Plv as a deaLh senLence" when lL ls ln facL a chronlc, manageable dlsease.
! As a resulL of Lhls wldespread lgnorance abouL Plv, Lhe blood, semen, and sallva of people llvlng wlLh Plv
have been referred Lo as deadly weapons," and lndlvlduals have been charged under aggravaLed assaulL,
aLLempLed murder, and even bloLerrorlsm laws.
! MosL people dlagnosed wlLh Plv behave responslbly Lo prevenL furLher Lransmlsslon, and behavlor wlLh
Lhe lnLenL Lo LransmlL Plv ls exLremely rare.
! ln mosL sLaLes, lndlvlduals wlLh no lnLenL Lo LransmlL Plv and Lhose who use proLecLlon Lo prevenL
Lransmlsslon are punlshed as harshly as Lhe very few lndlvlduals who acL wlLh Lhe lnLenL Lo LransmlL Plv.
! Laws LhaL are lnconslsLenL wlLh evldence-based lnlLlaLlves (such as condom use Lo prevenL Plv
Lransmlsslon) are aL dlrecL odds wlLh u.S. publlc healLh goals and Plv prevenLlon sLraLegles and programs.
Slnce usually only people who have been LesLed wlLh Plv are arresLed and prosecuLed, Lhese laws may
acLually dlscourage Plv LesLlng and dlsclosure.
! Laws LhaL place an addlLlonal burden on Plv-poslLlve lndlvlduals because of Lhelr Plv sLaLus, LhaL LreaL a
poslLlve Plv LesL as evldence of a crlme, and LhaL slngle ouL people wlLh Plv for severe punlshmenL ln Lhe
absence of acLual wrong-dolng are conLrary Lo our naLlon's values of falr LreaLmenL under Lhe law,
lncludlng equlLable LreaLmenL for people llvlng wlLh Plv and oLher dlsablllLles.
WhaL Lhe 8LLAL Plv ulscrlmlnaLlon AcL uoes Lo Solve Lhe roblem
1he blll requlres deslgnaLed offlclals (Lhe ALLorney Ceneral, Lhe SecreLary of PealLh and Puman Servlces, and
Lhe SecreLary of uefense) Lo:

! Work wlLh sLaLe sLakeholders (l.e., sLaLe aLLorneys general, sLaLe publlc healLh offlclals, people llvlng wlLh
Plv, nongovernmenLal healLh organlzaLlons, legal advocacy and Plv servlce organlzaLlons) Lo revlew
federal and sLaLe laws, pollcles and courL cases LhaL lnvolve crlmlnal llablllLy for people llvlng wlLh Plv
! uevelop a seL of besL pracLlces for Lhe LreaLmenL of Plv ln crlmlnal and clvll commlLmenL cases
! lssue guldance Lo sLaLes based on Lhose besL pracLlces
! MonlLor wheLher/how sLaLes change pollcles conslsLenL wlLh LhaL guldance
! rovlde supporL Lo sLaLes Lo asslsL wlLh educaLlon, reform and lmplemenLaLlon efforLs


123!4235!6782349:627, conLacL: Cscar Malrena, aL <Cscar.Malrena[mall.house.gov>