Skip to Content

Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

Map of the world

U.S. Senate votes to repeal HIV travel ban

The US Senate, whose public approval rating has been hovering around the high single digits, has finally done something right.

After fifteen years on the books, a law allowing border officials to refuse entry to HIV-positive visitors to the United States may finally be repealed. The bill, already passed by Congress, will be sent to the president's desk in the near future. He is expected to sign it.

As we wrote four months ago, the US is one of only a dozen countries-- including Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the Sudan-- with such a law. Even China decided last year to relax its restrictions on HIV-positive travelers.

The passage of the bill was a bipartisan effort, headed by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR).

Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic, whom we quoted in our previous post calling the ban "anachronistic and stigmatizing," is understandably elated. Sullivan is an HIV-positive British citizen who lives in America-- he was the recipient of a hard-to-obtain entry waiver-- and says he wants to become an American citizen, but cannot because of his HIV status. Sullivan writes:

"Barring some unforeseen event, the HIV Travel Ban - a relic of the days when HIV was a source of fear and stigma and terror - is finally over... I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the happiest days of my whole life. For two and a half decades, I have longed to be a citizen of the country I love and have made my home. I now can. There is no greater feeling."

So a thumbs up to Congress, for once.

Filed under: Activism, News

Search Travel Deals

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

Gadling Features



Categories

Travel Video

Discover San Francisco by bus on the award winning MUNI line 33

Featured Galleries (view all)

Top Ten Strangest Hotel Guest Requests
Paris Air Show 2009
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
Work and play in Queensland, Australia: Fruit Picking
One week in Chicago: Attractions
One week in Chicago: Food
Ardeonaig, Loch Tay, Scotland
Bay of Plenty
Bay of Islands

Sponsored Links