Your Opinion: Freedom comes with responsibilities

Dear Editor:

"The criminalizing of people living with HIV is an outrage," is a quote from a Your Opinion piece which refers to a story about a Columbia woman who was charged with knowingly exposing people to HIV. I urge everyone to dig out the news article and read it for themselves. According to the article, Antionette L. Clark was charged with engaging in acts of prostitution even though she knew she was HIV positive.

I am astounded that anyone can equate the act of arresting Clark with criminalizing people who are HIV positive. Clark admitted to engaging in acts of prostitution even though she was aware that she was HIV positive. She was not arrested because she has HIV, she was arrested because she knowingly put others at risk of being infected by her.

I am a civil libertarian. I believe in limited government, very limited government. I should be free to live my life as I desire right up to the point where that freedom infringes on the freedom (safety) of others.

Prior to becoming infected Clark should have had the freedom to have sex with whomever she pleased, in any manner she pleased. (Although her and her partner/s should be forced to bear the financial responsibility for the results of such acts.) Once Clark was aware that she was HIV positive she should still have the freedom to have sex with whomever she pleased, as long as she warned potential partners that she was HIV positive.

We need laws to protect us from those who might do us harm, but we don't need are laws that force others to bear the burden for our irresponsible behavior (i.e. asinine laws that criminalize the re-distribution pornographic selfies that we have handed out.) Unless we get back on the track of requiring people to be responsible for their actions we will never again be a great nation.

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