Moving LGBT Rights Beyond Marriage Equality

Tying Secretary of State John Kerry's statements in honor of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia to the release of A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People with HIV, the Inter Press Service News Agency notes that while there has been a great deal of progress in advancing the rights of LGBT and PLWH people in this country there is still a long way to go.

The Center for HIV Law and Policy has monitored nearly 200 HIV-related prosecutions in the United States since 2008, often for conduct that has little to no chance of transmitting HIV.  The article emphasizes that even in states that do not have specific criminal statutes based on HIV status,  PLWH are prosecuted under a variety of more general criminal laws including attempted murder, assault, and even bio-terrorism.