It’s Past Time for Equality for Those With HIV and AIDS : There’s still no cure, but the thousands affected in the county deserve at least an end to the discrimination.

For 15 years, we have lived through the HIV epidemic here in Orange County. About 2,600 have died, more than 2,000 are living with AIDS and an estimated 6,400 are infected with HIV. Many of us have lost friends, neighbors and loved ones to this cruel disease. We all have seen Rock Hudson, Ryan White, Elizabeth Glazer, Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis handle their disease in different ways. We’ve reacted to AIDS with courage, fear, anger, denial, grief, shame and love. And now we also have hope.

There is still no cure, vaccine or universal therapy for HIV. But there are combinations of drugs that can hold the virus in check. These drugs can cost $15,000 a year, often have unpleasant side-effects, and are not available, appropriate or effective for everyone.

Even some people who had been severely disabled by AIDS are making plans to go back to work and be productive members of society again. Thousands of other Orange County residents with HIV may never progress to full-blown AIDS. By following the recommended “hit hard, hit early” treatment strategy, they’re much more likely to stay well, do their jobs, keep their homes, and lead everyday lives like the rest of us. Or are they?

Imagine living with a disease that has taken away your strength, your resources, and maybe even some people you thought were your friends. Suddenly, improved treatments give you a new lease on life. You’re actually thinking about going back to work. But who will hire you? How do you explain the gap in your resume? Will you be able to get medical insurance? How long do you think it will take before your boss and co-workers know you are recovering from AIDS? Then what?

Imagine being infected with HIV. So far, you haven’t had any health problems, you’ve been able to share this terrible news with people closest to you, and you’re making sure not to expose anyone else to the virus. But you haven’t told your landlord, boss or fellow workers. You haven’t even used the company health plan for your HIV checkups. Now you have no choice.

Chances are you’ll be met with compassion and understanding. It’s not only HIV treatments that have improved. One only has to see the 13,000 people at AIDS Walk this past June to realize that we have come a long way from the early years when fear and discrimination were rampant. Today we are more educated, we know how the virus is spread, how to protect ourselves and what to teach our children.

Yet HIV doesn’t bring out the best in everyone. That’s why many counties in California adopted HIV antidiscrimination ordinances in the mid-1980s. In 1988, the Orange County Health Care Agency under the leadership of Director Tom Uram and County Health Officer Dr. Rex Ehling asked the Board of Supervisors to do the same. Laguna Beach had passed an ordinance in 1984, and it had been a deterrent to discrimination and a tool for education. Nevertheless, the supervisors declared the measure to be unnecessary and defeated it.

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With more people with AIDS becoming well enough to work, and with more HIV-infected people seeking treatment, it’s time to ask our supervisors to look at this issue again. The proposed ordinance would prohibit discrimination in business, education and housing on the basis of HIV status or perceived HIV status. It would keep qualified workers employed, help people return to work and make people less afraid to get tested. In turn, this will help them stay off welfare and Medi-Cal, and will protect the public health.

Special provisions have been written into the ordinance to exempt not-for-profit religious institutions, employers of fewer than five people and owner-occupied, single-family homes. Businesses also are exempt when an employee is not able to perform the job with reasonable accommodation as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill would not establish quotas, require employment or renting to those who are not qualified. It would not provide criminal penalties or promote litigation, and would require all parties to attempt to resolve their dispute through mediation.

After 15 years and 2,600 deaths, it’s time to show HIV-infected people that they have the same rights as every other American in Orange County. Out of simple fairness, it’s time to add people with HIV to the long list of groups who have expanded the meaning of “all men are created equal” and “liberty and justice for all.”