I can't even figure out why it's even considered criminal???
Texas Phys.Resource Council, Christian Med. & Dental Association, Catholic Med.Association
Even worse than the concerns about syphilis itself is the threat of HIV as the result of syphilis infections. One of the consequences of a high prevalence of syphilis and other STDs in men who have sex with men is that "STDs, and the behaviors associated with them, increase the likelihood of acquiring and transmitting HIV infection . . . ." CDC, Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2001 at 65 (Special Focus Profile, "STDs Among Men Who Have Sex with Men"). In regard to syphilis, the "lesions increase risk of HIV transmission between two and five times . . ." CDC Press Release, Overall Syphilis Rate Rises for First Time Since 1990 . Indeed, in Chicago, "[u]p to 70 percent of gay and bisexual men infected in recent outbreaks have tested positive for HIV . . . ." Greenfield, Syphilis Out- break Raises HIV Fears . Therefore, the increases in syphilis infections among men who have sex with men is no minor health concern.
"With the emergence of AIDS and identification of HIV, unprotected anal intercourse was reported to be the most efficient mode of sexual transmission of HIV infection." Anne M. Rompalo, M.D., Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Acquired Proctitis and Proctocolitis: An Update , 28 Clinical Infectious Diseases Suppl. 1, S84, S84 (1999); see also Goldstone, I NNS AND O UTS at 16 ("an anus is the highest-risk place for STDs"). That is particularly problematic for men who have sex with men, for a survey of 5,000 homosexual men in 4 metropolitan areas found that "over 80% had engaged in receptive anal intercourse with at least some of their partners in the previous two years." R.A. Kaslow, et al., The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study: Rationale, Organization and Selected Characteristics of the Participants , 126 American J. of Epidemiology No. 2, 310 (1987). Despite the small number of men who have sex with men ( supra note 12), the CDC has reported that "[r]esearchers estimate that men who have sex with men (MSM) still account for 42 percent of new HIV infections annually in the United States and for 60 percent of all new HIV infections among men." Tracking the Hidden Epidemics at 4. But these percentages are likely significantly underestimated for several reasons. First, they do not appear to include the number of men in the risk category of men who inject drugs and have sex with men. Second, the risk category has not been identified in nearly a third of cases reported to the CDC of HIV in men, and in 2001 the risk category was not identified for 51% of new cases of HIV in men. CDC, U.S. HIV and AIDS Cases Reported Through December 2001 , Year- end edition Vol. 13, No. 2, Table 6. 19 Perhaps more import- antly, a recent CDC study found that most HIV-infected men who have sex with men do not know they have HIV :
More than three-fourths of young gay and bisexual men infected with HIV were unaware of their statusinclud- ing 91 percent of African-American MSMand may have unknowingly transmitted the virus to their part- ners, according to a study led by CDC's Duncan Mc- Kellar. Researchers surveyed 5,719 MSM between the ages of 15 and 29 in six major U.S. cities, of whom 573 tested positive for HIV; 440 men (77 percent) were una- ware of their infection. . . . Of the 440 men who were unaware of their infection, 59 percent perceived them- selves to be at low or very low risk of being infected. 20
CDC Press Release, New CDC Studies Shed Light on Factors Underlying High HIV Infection Rates Among Gay and Bisexual Men , 2-3, CDC Office of Communication (July 10, 2002). 21 In another study reported in the same Press Release, "researchers found the rate of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) to be nine times higher than among women and heterosexual men." Id . at 1 (emphasis added).
Men who have sex with men may be responsible for a significant amount of heterosexual transmission of HIV as well, for nearly 41 percent of women with AIDS acquired it from men. CDC, Basic Statistics , Division of HIV/AIDS Preven- tion. 22 It is unlikely that many American men acquire HIV from women because HIV is not easily transmitted from females to males. See Bruce Voeller, Ph.D., AIDS and Heterosexual Anal Intercourse , 20 Archives of Sexual Behavior No. 3, 233, 264 (1991) ("female partners infected anally (or any other way) are much less likely to communicate HIV sexually to their partners than are anal-receptive homosexual or bisexual males . . . Western females tend to be terminators in infectivity chains") (emphasis original). 23 Thus, many of the men who infect females are likely to have acquired HIV/AIDS by having sex with men. See id . at 237 (noting risk from bisexual men).
Since the laws this country was founded on (the basic laws such as laws against killing, stealing, assault etc) are in essence based on morality, right and wrong, which is based on religious tenets - how do you figure what should be outlawed without reference to religion? There is no other universal way to distinguish right from wrong.
And the silly statement that "you can't legislate morality" is so juvvenile as to be totally meaningless. All laws are legislating morality.