President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice on Thursday sued Tennessee over its aggravated prostitution law. Nashville lawmakers made it a felony to knowingly transmit AIDS or HIV to another person as part of an illegal transaction, but the DOJ has cried foul.
The agency asserted that such action violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
DOJ investigators discovered the horrific practice of Tennessee law enforcement putting harsher penalties on those who knowingly transmit disease. Misdemeanor conduct became a felony, which the agency said occurs “regardless of any actual risk of harm.”
The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to six months in prison and a $500 fine.
Conviction on a felony aggravated prostitution charge may result in a prison term from three to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000.” The offender would also have to register for life.
This, according to the DOJ, is discrimination.
The Biden DOJ just sued Tennessee for making it a crime to knowingly transmit AIDS and HIV.
They claim it violates disability rights.
No, I am not kidding.https://t.co/2aTq1TglI0
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 15, 2024
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said “people living with HIV should not be subjected to a different system of justice based on outdated science and misguided assumptions.”
Clarke further declared the DOJ is committed to ensuring those with HIV are not targeted because of their “disability.”
The Associated Press reported that Tennessee lawmakers are close to enacting a change in the law. While it would not remove the felony status of those convicted of aggravated prostitution, it would release them from the requirement of reporting as an offender.
LGBT groups and their allies sued in federal court in October in an attempt to overturn the state law. They argued that Tennessee is the only state that mandates people submit to a registry for life if convicted of the crime.
Social media commentators were predictably harsh when the news of the DOJ lawsuit against the Volunteer State broke.
Pundit Dana Loesch wrote, “You could lose your job if you don’t get the jab but you can give the HIV at your leisure.” The “End Wokeness” account on X, formerly Twitter, observed that the Biden DOJ sued Tennessee over its law making it “a crime to knowingly transmit AIDS and HIV.”
It added, “No, I am not kidding.”
