93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
You will probably see a bipartisan push in Jefferson City to change state laws tied to HIV.
Republican state Rep. Phil Christofanelli says those measures were written in the 1980’s, when there was a lot of panic about that virus. For example, it is illegal to spit on someone if you are HIV positive, even though that is not a way to transmit it.
If the bill passes next year, it would still be a felony to knowingly transmit HIV. But it would be a lesser, Class “C” felony. It’s a Class “A” felony currently, the same level as murdering someone.
“We want to make sure that our criminal laws are treating people fairly and punishing where necessary to actually reflect the nature of what occurred,” Christofanelli said on The Mike Ferguson Show.
