Has Dannemeyer Changed His View on AIDS Issue?

In response to Robert Stewart’s May 15 Postscript column concerning Rep. William Dannemeyer’s supposed “moderation” of his views on AIDS, all I can say is that it sounds like the same old “unmoderate” Dannemeyer to me. In fact, in some ways, Dannemeyer’s “new” views are worse than ever because they have been dressed up and put into language designed to make them appear new and less reactionary. Stewart says that the congressman no longer supports mandatory tests for the presence of HIV virus except among prisoners. But, when he goes on to explain some of the congressman’s proposals for his new “comprehensive AIDS bill,” they all seem to require testing.

Dannemeyer’s new proposals would use the threat of withdrawal of federal funding for states that don’t impose criminal penalties on those who infect others. How would any state know an individual was infected unless the person was tested? Dannemeyer also proposes allowing public health officials to contact those who test positive and question them concerning their sex partners. Again, how does Congressman Dannemeyer propose to know an individual’s HIV status without testing? Finally, under his supposedly new and “partially moderated” approach, Dannemeyer will propose routine HIV testing for marriage-license approval. The idea of testing for HIV before marriage has been in effect in Illinois for well over 2 years, and it is widely considered to be an extremely expensive failure.

To me, this all sounds like the same reactionary and inflammatory Dannemeyer who has consistently proposed ideas that have prevented a sensible and humane approach to the AIDS epidemic, and his “new” ideas are no exception.

I can only hope that these ideas will go the way of Dannemeyer’s others, which have been resoundingly defeated again and again in Congress--and by the voters of California.

If the congressman truly wanted to help people with AIDS, rather than continuing his senseless attacks on them, he would support anti-discrimination legislation, additional medical research and other facets of a compassionate response to this epidemic.

KEVIN FARRELL

Laguna Beach