Riddle me this …. if all public health professionals agree that there is no threat in allowing HIV-positive people who live in other countries to travel to the US, why does the government maintain a policy prohibiting the action? If you replied, "because of social conservative politicians" you win.

According to the Washington Blade, "The Immigration and Nationality Act denies visas to anyone with 'a communicable disease of public health significance,' and HIV was placed in that category in 1987. Only a handful of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have a similar policy regarding people with HIV."

In 1987 little was known about HIV and fear was the rule of the day. Since that time our understanding of the disease and our concern for people affected by it has evolved. Americans who travel abroad (except to Iran and Saudi Arabia) are not subject to the same discrimination as "the land the free and the home of the brave" inflicts on HIV-positive residents of other countries.

More than one dozen public health organizations agree the ban is outdated and discriminatory, and President Bush's own HIV/AIDS advisor said it is difficult to find anyone to support the ban.

Waivers are possible for individuals coming to the US for professional reasons, but are difficult to obtain, and organizers of large scale events, like the Gay Games currently in Chicago, or HIV conferences, have to consider the political backlash that is inevitable from social conservatives depsite the unanimous public health verdict that the ban serves no purpose other than bigotry and that HIV-positive people pose no threat.

"The ban serves absolutely no scientific purpose," said Patricia Mail, president of the American Public Health Association "Our country has a long record of discrimination [against gays] and this is just one more example. … This is strictly about politics."

Sound familiar?