David Weldon: “for my colleagues this amendment specifically deals with the issue where you have a situation of a sexual assault and a…”

“for my colleagues this amendment specifically deals with the issue where you have a situation of a sexual assault and a victim is trying to determine the HIV status of the perpetrator. Many States have taken action on this issue. But there are several States that have yet to do so. Why am I offering this? Well, we had a case in Alabama of a 41-year-old man, HIV positive, transmitting HIV to a 4-year-old girl that he had raped. A 35-year-old man in Iowa raped a 15-year-old girl and her 69-year-old grandmother. He was infected with HIV. Under the laws of that State, they had no right to obtain the HIV status of this rapist. He was HIV positive. And as many people may note today, if you are exposed to HIV, it is possible to take a 1-month long course of medication and dramatically reduce the likelihood of contracting human immunodeficiency disease. I think this is an excellent amendment. This body passed this by large vote years ago.”