[BartSimpson]

Quote:

Study: 20 Percent of Gay Men Have HIV, Half Don't Know They're Infected – New York Times
Monday, September 27, 2010

About 20 percent of gay and bisexual men are HIV-positive—but nearly half don't know it, a new study suggests. More than 8,000 men in 21 cities were tested for the virus in 2008, and 44 percent were unaware they were infected, according to the analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Least likely to know they had HIV? Young, sexually active gay men—and those in minority groups. Baltimore's gay population had a 38 percent infection rate, the highest among the cities included in the study. More than 56,000 Americans become infected with HIV each year, and 18,000 die of AIDS annually, the CDC reports. "This study's message is clear: HIV exacts a devastating toll on men who have sex with men in America's major cities, and yet far too many of those who are infected don't know it," Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, told The Washington Post.

But, somehow, having these people in the military will have no effect on military effectiveness. What happens when the military, with a notoriously underfunded health care system, has to foot the bill for gay AIDS patients?

[andyt]

HIV does not = AIDS

[BartSimpson]

andyt wrote:

HIV does not = AIDS

True, just like hepatitis does not equal liver failure.

That said, having a population in the military with a 1 in 5 probability of infection with a lethal disease is not a bright idea.

They're legally prohibited from donating blood becasue of this reality and that's a damned good reason to keep them out of combat where blood-borne diseases easily get spread around.

[andyt]

BartSimpson wrote:

andyt wrote:

HIV does not = AIDS

True, just like hepatitis does not equal liver failure.

That said, having a population in the military with a 1 in 5 probability of infection with a lethal disease is not a bright idea.

They're legally prohibited from donating blood becasue of this reality and that's a damned good reason to keep them out of combat where blood-borne diseases easily get spread around.

I sure hope some of our Canadian military people on this forum weigh in on this, since Canada doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I do believe in strict segregation tho - gay men in one unit, lesbians in another, straight men in another and straight women barefoot in the kitchen. Keep the bisexuals out of the army altogether, they're having way too much fun.

[stratos]

Here is my concern with homosexuals in the military. When I was in I had to on many occasions deal with my fellow soilders bleeding, blood at crime areas, ppls illnesses ect.. On a few occasions it was even me bleeding. Not once did it even cross my mind that ohhh ohhh this man or woman might have aids, HIV ect. It always was shit their bleeding let me do first aid. Never did I put on gloves or a face mask. Our medic when he was dealing with me never put on gloves face mask or anything.

I can't help but think of what it wouild be like to deal with those same situation with the concern of this going through my mind. Would I hesitate and if so would someone have died. Would I not have been as detailed on my investigations ect.. Now put these concerns into a battlefiled inviroment and it even gets more complicated.

[Guy_Fawkes]

Here is the actual link to the story so you can read it. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 06828.html

I think much more exstensive testing into the subject needs to be done before we can call this a fact.

[Proculation]

They are placing ALL gays in the same category. I don't think the ones I see in the village gay of Montreal wearing leather are the ones wanting to go in the military.

[sandorski]

Another lame angle to keep the Immoral Status Quo.

Fail.

[Brenda]

andyt wrote:

HIV does not = AIDS

And gay does not mean HIV.

Does the military test? I think they should. Pregnant women, immigrants, they all get tested. Why not military personnel, especially when sent abroad?
How many gay men are there in the military anyway? 1 in 40? (wild guess) So 1 in 4 of those 1 in 40 of MEN in the military MIGHT have HIV...

[BartSimpson]

stratos wrote:

Here is my concern with homosexuals in the military. When I was in I had to on many occasions deal with my fellow soilders bleeding, blood at crime areas, ppls illnesses ect.. On a few occasions it was even me bleeding. Not once did it even cross my mind that ohhh ohhh this man or woman might have aids, HIV ect. It always was shit their bleeding let me do first aid. Never did I put on gloves or a face mask. Our medic when he was dealing with me never put on gloves face mask or anything.

I can't help but think of what it wouild be like to deal with those same situation with the concern of this going through my mind. Would I hesitate and if so would someone have died. Would I not have been as detailed on my investigations ect.. Now put these concerns into a battlefiled inviroment and it even gets more complicated.

I guess this is part of why you're going to see a sea change in the military after this passes.

The biggest problem will be when the Catholic Latinos and demonstrably anti-gay rights blacks refuse to join the military anymore. The net result of pro-gay policy will be a far less diverse military and a far more liberal military.

The problem with that is a marked increase in so-called 'conscientious objectors' when it comes time to deploy. All of which means a less effective military than today.

[BartSimpson]

sandorski wrote:

Another lame angle to keep the Immoral Status Quo.

Fail.

You're the Champion of Morality now?

[BartSimpson]

Brenda wrote:

Does the military test? I think they should. Pregnant women, immigrants, they all get tested. Why not military personnel, especially when sent abroad?

HIV testing, by law, is voluntary even in the armed forces. That's because HIV has a political status that is based in political correctness, not in medical reality. Fortunately, the people in charge of our blood supply brook no such nonsense.

[Brenda]

BartSimpson wrote:

Brenda wrote:

Does the military test? I think they should. Pregnant women, immigrants, they all get tested. Why not military personnel, especially when sent abroad?

HIV testing, by law, is voluntary even in the armed forces. That's because HIV has a political status that is based in political correctness, not in medical reality. Fortunately, the people in charge of our blood supply brook no such nonsense.

Are you telling me you don't test your skilled immigrants when they do their medical?
Do they test for TB? Or Hepetitus?

[Proculation]

"More than 8,000 self-identifying gay and bisexual men (or, as the researchers call them, MSM, for men who have sex with men) were tested by CDC workers in the 21 American cities with the highest infection rates. The gay population in Baltimore had the highest rates of HIV infection, at 38%, while Atlanta scored lowest, at 6%."

38% in Baltimore. I'm not surprised. They are about what ? 65-70% blacks ?

[BartSimpson]

Brenda wrote:

Are you telling me you don't test your skilled immigrants when they do their medical?
Do they test for TB? Or Hepetitus?

Nope. The Democrats got health testing banned as "discriminatory" back in 1986 as part of immigration 'reform'.

Consequently, diseases which had been wiped out or all but wiped out in the USA have been reintroduced by infected immigrants.

California, right now, is epidemic with whooping cough due to Southeast Asian and Latin American immigrants who were infected with it when they came here. We also have tuberculosis back in California after having it almost wiped out from around 1955 to 1998. The TB is coming in with the upsurge in immigrants from mainland China where the disease is rampant. What makes it worse is the Chinese immigrants have no qualms about spitting their goo in public, on public transportation, and etc. and that spreads the disease even further.