Canadian HIV-Positive Man
Challenges U.S. Ban

Canadian HIV-positive AIDS activist Richard Hollingsworth tried to cross into the U.S. at Eastport, Idaho (from Kingsport, B.C.) July 14 carrying a sign that said, "AIDS does not discriminate but governments do."

He was sent back to Canada.

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service policy bans the entry of HIV-positive foreigners unless they receive special permission to visit family, seek medical treatment or attend a conference.

"They consider AIDS a communicable disease [under Section 212 of the U.S. Health Act] spread ... like tuberculosis, smallpox and the plague," Hollingsworth said. "AIDS is no airborne pathogen. There are specific ways of getting AIDS and you don't get it from someone sneezing.

"This is a human-rights issue and a social injustice and we need to get this matter resolved," Hollingsworth said. "This matter isn't over, and I want to be at Eastport again."

Nicaraguan Cops, Soldiers
to Carry Condoms

Nicaragua's 15,000 soldiers and 6,000 policemen were ordered by their superiors July 17 to carry condoms to protect themselves from HIV.

"The army ... moves around the country and is therefore a high- risk group," Gen. Joaquin Cuadra said at a news conference.

The rubbers will be distributed by the Health Ministry with partial funding from the United Nations.

Austria Keeps Discriminatory
Age of Consent

Austria's parliament voted July 17 to maintain different ages of consent for gay-male, lesbian and heterosexual sex.

Opposite-sex and female couples can have sex at 14 while male couples must wait till 18.

The Christian Democrats and the right-wing Freedom Party voted for the status quo while the Green and Liberal parties voted for equalization. MPs from the party with the most seats, the Social Democrats, walked out of the chamber rather than vote against gays or the governing coalition.

The Council of Europe's European Commission on Human Rights has ruled that unequal ages of consent violate the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms -- and on two occasions, the European Union's Parliament has called on Austria end its discrimination against gay men.

The European Union is composed of 15 western European nations working toward unification. The Council of Europe is a grouping of 40 nations pledged to uphold human rights and cooperate in a variety of spheres of activity.