Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Disgrace

We can do without this guy in our party or in government:
Maryland Comptroller William Schaefer (D) on Tuesday defended his call for a public registry to list the names of HIV-positive people in the state and said that HIV-positive people are "a danger," the Washington Post reports.

...

When asked on Tuesday in an interview to explain his remarks, Schaefer said, "As far as I'm concerned, people who have AIDS are a danger. They're a danger to spread AIDS. People should be able to know who has AIDS. It costs an awful lot of money to treat them." Schaefer added that HIV-positive people only contract the virus through "risky behavior," according to the Post.

"They bring it on themselves," he said, adding, "They don't get it by sitting on the toilet seat. ... A person who gives AIDS, who spreads AIDS, they're bad people. Everybody wants to be on the good side of everything. Well, I'm taking a stand." Schaefer in the 1990s pushed a proposal that would have established a public HIV registry, but the measure was defeated three times by the state Legislature. Although Maryland tracks HIV cases using names, the list is not published or publicly accessible, according to the Post.