Monday, October 25, 2010

Republican House Candidate Proposes Tattoos for HIV Victims

Republican House candidate Neil Parrott (2B) of Hagerstown once wrote the Herald-Mail proposing that HIV victims get tattoos marking their status. He even advocated that victims receive medicine only after getting the tattoos. Here's an excerpt from his letter to the editor:

It is time to take the threat of HIV seriously. A compassionate and serious solution must preserve the dignity of those infected while truly helping to prevent the spread of the disease in an effective way.

One such solution is a tattoo for those who are infected. This mark could be inconspicuously placed, perhaps in a spot covered by a bathing suit, warning only those who might engage in intimate encounters with the infected person.

An effective way to enforce the consistency of the tattoo would be to provide medicine to the infected individual only after they have received the HIV tattoo.