Comments on: Toronto man arrested for unprotected gay sex

By: Alexander16IL

Alexander16IL — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:22:32 +0000

It takes 2! the HIV- guy should have told the HIV+ guy to use protection, or atleast gotten him tested. People need to understand that it is their responsibility too, even if they are HIV-

By: Greg747

Greg747 — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:05:40 +0000

I can’t let go of this story; my third comment: just saw the advert for Pride in Toronto..well, the answer is NO.

I got married in Toronto and thought I had great respect for my GLBT friends in Canada…until now.

I am worried and saddened that Canada is sooo progressive that PWAs will be forced to wear tatoos on their arms…

Many thought Weimar Germany was quite progressive and Gay-friendly…that didn’t work out so good.

If we ever choose to visit Canada again (unlikely), I’ll make sure to take an ad in the paper telling everyone that another infected homo is in town; lock up your kids.

I think I’ll get to the tatoo parlor ASAP…this way I can have my OWN biohazard warning painted on before the government does it for me.

By: Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:08:24 +0000

Well, this is very one-sided. Si8nce when is the sexual health of a person left up to the OTHER person. Yes, ideally, anyone who is positive would tell their partner. However, if people feel that they could be arrested if they test positive, they will simply NOT get tested and state that they “did not know”. Moreover, it isn’t the person who knows he is positive (especially if on medication) – who is likely to infect someone – it is the person who DOESN’T know they are positive, who has a high viral load – who will infect someone. These kinds of laws only discourage people from getting tested. People shouldn’t be engaging in unsafe sex, whether they are positive or not. Many people believe they are negative, when in fact they aren’t. If the guy engaged in unprotected sex and didn’t ask his partner his status, he has no right to a claim.

By: Greg747

Greg747 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:59:35 +0000

Oh, and yes: for our next fund raiser I will be asking clients to sew pink triangles with red ribbons in the middle…this way our scarlet letter will be available for all to see.

To my friends in Toronto: at the HIV clinics you can raise money by forcing all who test positive to be tatooed! Congrats! I heard that idea was already done somewhere in Germany in the ’30’s and ’40’s…why don’t you ask those folks how well that turned out?

By: Greg747

Greg747 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:54:23 +0000

I am not sure, but I fell like I’ve been kicked in the stomach (after reading these horrible responses).

I am so disheartened that AIDS phobia is thriving; I knew for years that AIDS has been increasingly swept under the carpet by many of my Gay bretheren, but these repsonses top my worst fears.

I run a small, but effective HIV/AIDS services organisation on Long Island, NY. I see on a daily basis the true cost of fear, stigma, and discrimination that my clients face each and every day.

No, I am NOT going to tell them about this story. They – we’ve got enough problems than worrying about getting locked up for having sex.

My goodness how little we have learned in 25+ years.

Does anyone remember the words universal precautions?

Does anyone remember compassion?

I have actually received critisisms from several in our Gay community because my agency sees so many women of color…I’ve been told that I don’t do enough for our ‘own’.

Well, if these repsonses are any indication of how low our own people have sunk…I am frightened; I am saddened.

I have spent the last 30 years of my life fighting for GLBT rights, for HIV/AIDS care and compassion – now I really need to question why..Why am I fighting so hard for such little return and even less respect.

I think it’s time that I started being more selfish like the pricks on this website.
Maybe doing good was not the most lucrative career path for me – now I am not even sure if I should care about “my” people.

Thank you, cruel men and women of the internet; thank you for taking 30 years of progress and sinking my hopes and the hopes of many living with HIV/AIDS.

I will still be in my little office trying to figure out how to feed the hungry, and house the poor.

I hope that none of you ever darkens my door when you are in need…

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:23:02 +0000

I am a 16 year AIDS survivor, and this is an issue that drives me nuts. Every time I read a story like this I get furious. In so far as I am concerned, this law is nothing more than another of a huge set of “Politically (In-)Correct Victimization Laws” – they are laws that allow some stupid bastard to go into court and say “Oh, please pity me! I was too stupid to realize that the steam coming off the top of my coffee meant it was really hot, so I deliberately poured it down my pants. Now, make McDonald’s pay me five-million dollars for my self-inflicted pain and suffering…” Same bullsh*t – different flavor – in this case.
In my opinion, ANYONE who has unprotected sex should be taken out an horse-whipped for being suicidally stupid. Whether you are HIV+ or HIV-, have AIDS or not doesn’t matter. You either have safer sex, or you keep your dick in your pants.
I became infected when the condom we were using broke. My boyfriend at that time didn’t know that he was Positive. If there is anything that should come of my situation, it is that there should be a law requiring all condoms over 1 year from date of manufacture to be removed from the shelves and destroyed.
As others have pointed out already – this unprotected sex was a mutual decision by those two men. If the police in Canada need to be doing anything, it is locking them BOTH up for being too STUPID to waste oxygen.

By: Lindsay Williams

Lindsay Williams — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:21:16 +0000

Even as a gay man, I think the charges are quite right. He has already played russian roulette with his health and lost and like ‘patient zero’ in ‘And the Band Played On’ he thinks nothing of endangering the health of how many others. I say life in solitary confinement!!

By: Morgan

Morgan — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:22:46 +0000

For me the sex can wait until I am in a committed relationship and have beed dating someone for a while and getting to know him and then using a condom. I am not so desperate for sex that I can’t wait.

By: the menstruator

the menstruator — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:46:46 +0000

Any male in north america still contracting HIV is either really stupid (which is most likely the case) or incredibly self sabotaging. This isn’t the days of Henry Flesh and “the sweetness.” Weren’t we all brainwashed as kids about HIV? If you are a man having unprotected sex in general, with people you hardly know, shame on you and what did you expect?

By: kevtod

kevtod — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:05:37 +0000

Geez, I hope the jury is more open-minded than some on this board… I mean c’mon people, how about a little “innocent until proven guilty” idealism here. All we have is one man filing a complaint against another man. Which makes it pretty much a “he said, he said” case. Or is it a “he said, he didn’t say” case ??? For all we know, the only reason the guy filing the complaint found out about the HIV+ guys status because sobered up the morning after and he actually went back and read the POZ guys profile… Then I am sure some would still complain because he didn’t get a signed waiver from the accuser…