He has a communicable disease. What makes anyone think a foreign country would want him to be sent to them? He has a disease that could be spread throughout that foreign country. I do not think it should be legal for a person with a communicable disease to leave their country and travel to another. It’s the same with tuberculosis, syphilis, etc. You are a danger to other people. It is not because of HIV, it’s because of having a communicable disease. And he’s allowed to work in a restaurant? I don’t think that is acceptable either.

Good. Employers can fire healthy smokers even if they only smoke at home.Next come you overweight slobs, and soon anyone who disagrees. Concerts are held to promote perversion while taxing smokers. AIDS/HIV is funded just within the US at $26 billion every year from the US government, and does not include private organizations, concert fund raisers, or any state, county or city agencies. What does the smoker get? Ridiculous ridicule and taxes. Cancer research is funded at $6 billion per year with $5 billion provided by NCI ( National Cancer Institute, a department of the US government) and American Cancer Society contributes less than one billion, with a good portion of that coming from government funding.

So do I have sympathy? Sorry. Not from me.

My daughter is an RN and she’s not allowed to know if a patient (OB no less) is HIV positive as many of her welfare patients are. Is this fair? Sure, she does her best to follow the proper infection prevention guidelines but inadvertent needle sticks are common. Why do we put our medical personnel at risk for the sake of the PC crowd. I, too, have no sympathy for this guy.

What’s the issue? Send him (and others) to a country in Africa to work with AIDS children — that was there’s no potential issue of volunteers getting it.

I wonder if the issue is more of HOW he got it (was he already deployed? using drugs? etc?)

I am a currently serving Peace Corps volunteer and I find it sad that this site is more concerned with attacking the ACLU over an issue that does not really apply to them and ignoring a much larger threat to Peace Corps/US credibility worldwide.

To explain:
I have seen volunteers sent home for something as common as diarrhea, back pain or even just complaining too much. The Peace Corps medical staff makes informed decisions about what is and is not a illness treatable while the volunteer remains in-country. This is not an HIV discrimination issue; the developing world is a dangerous place and a volunteer with a serious health problem like HIV/AIDS should be sent home so they can have access to high-quality medical care.

THIS, on the other hand, is a BIG issue:
http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2206961.html

“U.S. Diplomat Vincent Cooper Recalled After ‘Spying’ Allegations in Bolivia”

This safety and security officer basically told volunteers to go against the principle that allows them to gain the trust of communities worldwide (the separation between Peace Corps and any kind of intelligence agency) and report on the activities of any Cubans or Venezuelans they might run into.

Debby obviously you have no idea what HIV is or how it is transmitted. HIV is very weak outside it’s human host. In fact you have a greater likelihood of contracted hepatitis B from “casual contact” than you do with HIV. The fact that you’re offended at his working a restaurant is absolutely ridiculous. Unless he cuts himself and bleeds directly into an open sore of yours, you probably won’t get HIV from him.

HIV is a world wide issue. The idea of restricting people from traveling and participating in service organizations because of their HIV status is ludicrous. The only possible issue that could limit Johnson’s ability to be a productive member of an organization such as the Peace Corps is the need for medication. Not all HIV positive individuals need medication and can live productive lives with out the rest of the world knowing that they have such a diagnosis.

Perhaps you should educate yourselves on HIV before making ignorant comments.

I am absolutely apalled at some of the responses. First of all, ignorance about the transmission of HIV coupled with stigma, stereotypes and pure lies have affected the way people view the disease. I’m glad “B” cleared up the transmission facts. In this country, half of all new HIV infections are in the age group of 15-25. You have no sympathy for that? People have no idea how destructive this preventable disease is. People are ill-informed and uneducated. Sexual education in this country is a joke. Even curable diseases are ravaging our young people. Yet nothing is done to stop it. Abstinence is great in a perfect world. Education needs to cover STDs, HIV/AIDs, safe sex practices, etc. For a organization like the Peace Corps to discharge someone based on their HIV status is appalling. I have always wanted to join the Peace Corps and work in STD/HIV/AIDS education, it is one of the main jobs in the Peace Corps. How can you deny someone employment based on that? The only way to transmit the HIV virus is blood-to-blood contact, seminal or vaginal fluids, through the birth canal or breast milk. HIV dies once it hits the environment. I know I am off topic, but I get absolutely disgusted when people talk about HIV so ignorantly. It is so easy for us to say “It is Africa’s problem” and “The only people here who have it are gay or promiscuous”. That simply is not true. The most common symptom of all is no symptoms. Anyone and everyone who has had sexual contact with another person, especially unprotected, is at risk. Get tested!!!