The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, arguing that a law that punishes prostitutes for spreading the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) constitutes discrimination prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). filed a lawsuit.
of tennessee law Aggravated prostitution, a felony, is when an individual knowingly “engages in sexual activity as a business, is an inmate of a prostitution establishment, or loiters in a public place with the intent to be hired to engage in sexual activity.” It is defined as “when doing so.'' ” Despite knowing that they are infected with HIV. The Department of Justice alleges that the law violates the following provisions: ADA That's because, according to the law, prostitutes should not be subject to “more severe criminal penalties because of their disability.” complaint. (Related: Brothel sued for sex trafficking, days after advertising free sex for NFL players)
“Enforcement of state criminal laws that discriminate against people based solely on their HIV status and not on their actual risk of harm discriminates against people living with HIV,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. It's a thing,” he said. press release. “People living with HIV should not be subjected to a different justice system based on outdated science and false assumptions. It reflects our efforts.”
A female police officer poses as a prostitute on Holt Boulevard, known as “The Truck” to sex workers throughout Southern California, during a large-scale prostitution sting in Pomona, California, on November 12, 2004. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
The law also requires those convicted of aggravated prostitution to register as sex offenders, which the Department of Justice said would allow those convicted to “live and work in public. They claim that the places they can go out will be restricted. According to the complaint, a convicted person “may not live or receive employment within 300 feet of a school, day care center, other child care facility, public park, playground, recreation center, or athletic field.” That's what it means.
The American Civil Liberties Union also filed a lawsuit against the state in October 2023, saying the law “disproportionately impacts Black people and transgender women.”
Department store announced The state filed the lawsuit Thursday after Tennessee failed to comply with a December 2023 order that found the law discriminatory and ordered the state not to enforce it. The state legislature is currently invoice This will remove the requirement for prostitutes to register as sex offenders if they have sex knowing they are infected with HIV.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrumetti's office told the Daily Caller News Foundation: “We are aware of the complaint and will review it.”
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