Former college wrestler gets 30 years for ‘recklessly’ transmitting HIV

A former college wrestler has been sentenced 30 years in prison for ‘recklessly’ transmitting HIV.

Michael Johnson, 23, tested positive for HIV in January 2013. But the former Lindenwood University student continued to have unprotected sex with men he met on hookup apps until he was arrested in October that year, after a partner who contracted the virus from went to the police.

A jury found Johnson guilty of ‘recklessly infecting’ a man with HIV, attempting to infect another, and exposing three others to the virus in May.

Judge Jon Cunningham told Johnson that he had committed ‘very severe’ crimes before handing down the sentence on Tuesday (14 July).

‘The main thing is the profound effect your actions have had on the victims and their families,’ he said.

Johnson was also given 30 years and six months for the four lesser charges, which he will serve concurrently with the main sentence.

Johnson did not apologize but said in a statement: ‘I never want anyone to have to go through the pain’ of having HIV.

Missouri is one of 33 states that have HIV criminalization laws, which AIDS activists have slammed for being outdated and unfairly targeting black men.

‘The criminal statute that Michael Johnson was convicted of violating was originally passed in 1988, at a time when HIV was considered a “death sentence,”‘ said Mayo Schreiber, deputy director of The Center for HIV Law and Policy.

‘Today, with proper treatment, HIV is a chronic, manageable disease and those with HIV can expect to live a full, healthy life.

Yet violation of the Missouri law is a class A felony, with a sentencing range of 10-30 years or life imprisonment. Other class A felonies include murder or child abandonment resulting in death. Punishing Michael Johnson as if he is a murderer because state officials have failed to address a severely outdated, irrational criminal law is not only fundamentally unfair, it is barbaric.’

The post Former college wrestler gets 30 years for ‘recklessly’ transmitting HIV appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/former-college-wrestler-gets-30-years-for-recklessly-transmitting-hiv/

WATCH: Texas County Sees Impassioned Debate Over LGBT-Themed Kids' Books

Some residents of Hood County had complained about the books’ presence in the public library, leading to a heated meeting — but a decision to keep the books.

read more

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/youth/2015/07/14/watch-texas-county-sees-impassioned-debate-over-lgbt-themed-kids-books

Few School Districts Have Anti-Bullying Policies Protecting LGBT Students
A majority of American school districts have no policies protecting LGBT students from bullying, according to a report released Wednesday.

Nearly 30 percent of school districts have no official anti-bullying policy, according to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, which surveyed more than 13,000 school districts. Of the 70 percent of school districts that do have anti-bullying policies, fewer than half explicitly outline protections for students who get bullied because of their sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. Only about 14 percent of districts have protections based on gender identity or expression.

America’s LGBT community has made historic strides in recent weeks. In late June, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide, using the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause to support the ruling. In early July, the U.S. Department of Justice sided with a transgender teen suing his school district because it will not let him use the boys restroom.

Still, the report found that many school districts fail to comply with state laws requiring anti-bullying codes, while others go beyond what their states mandate.

The report “illustrates the gap that can emerge between the intentions of a law and the actual implementation –- arguably the most critical component of the passage of any law,” said Eliza Byard, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network executive director, in a press release. “There remain far too many school districts that have failed to institute policy protections, even in states which require them by law. As a result, these schools continue to fail our students.”

The organization analyzed the anti-bullying policies of every school district from 2008 to 2011.

The map below shows which states are most likely to have school districts with any anti-bullying policy. The graph shows which states have school districts with the most inclusive anti-bullying policies.

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network’s annual school climate survey, which asks LGBT youth about their experiences in school, shows that “students who believe that their schools have LGBT-inclusive policies experience better school climates,” the report says.

The group’s most recent school climate report from the 2012-2013 school year found that of the 8,000 students surveyed, more than 55 percent reported feeling unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation.

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Florida woman arrested for hitting girlfriend in face with dildo

A woman has been arrested in Florida for hitting her girlfriend in the face with a dildo.

Annette Kielhurn, 57, argued with Gamze Capaner-Ridley, 47, at their own home in St Petersburg over a dress.

A police officer was present to oversee Capaner-Ridley removed her personal belongings from the house, a day after she had filed a civil domestic violence injunction against Kielhurn.

‘While assisting the victim on a clothing assist, the defendant grabbed the victim with one arm and used the other arm to pull a dress out of her hand that she said was hers,’ the officer wrote in his report.

‘I then specifically told the defendant no to touch the victim and told her to just verbally say what she did not want her partner to take from the house because this is civil.

‘Shortly afterwards the defendant intentionally shoved a “dildo” in the victim’s face and grabbed her right arm while arguing whose it belonged to.

The cop arrested Kielhurn for domestic battery was booked into jail on the misdemeanor charge.

She was released from custody after posting $500 bail.

Kielhurn, who has Capaner-Ridley’s first name tattooed on her chest, previously served three years in prison after she was found passed out and drunk in a car that contained 25kg of cocaine – which had a street value of $2.5m.

She was also arrested in June for trespassing.

The post Florida woman arrested for hitting girlfriend in face with dildo appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/florida-woman-arrested-for-hitting-girlfriend-in-face-with-dildo/