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What effect, if any, do you believe the legalization of gay marriage will have on the spread of HIV?

11 | August | 2011
Shawn

It’s a tricky question. I do believe that the legalization of gay marriage will vastly improve the feelings of self-worth for the younger generation of gay teens. And it is beyond cool and fair that gay couples of any age will be protected by the safeguards that a legal marriage provides. Having stated that, straight people have done a fine job of leading the way in terms of ditching condoms once a relationship has been established, and even “cemented” by marriage, only to stray down the line and practice unsafe sex outside of marriage. I don’t see a lot of difference between “gay” and “straight”, which is one of the reasons why I support gay marriage. We are all human, and therein lies the problem. Legalizing marriage most certainly can not hurt in the spread of HIV within the gay community. But the pitfalls that many straight people have fallen into should be a fair warning sign to anyone who takes that ultimate leap of faith with another human being.

Comments

Submitted by Reggie (not verified) on September | 20 | 2011.

Stellar work there everyone. I'll keep on reading.

Submitted by Hilfenjes88 (not verified) on January | 13 | 2012.

I also think it will inspire more men to be gay:)

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Infected with HIV as a child through the contaminated blood products used to treat his hemophilia, Shawn learned early in life about discrimination. Within a month of testing positive for the virus, he was kicked out of the 6th grade. By all accounts, he wasn’t expected to live five years. During his freshman year of high school, he met his favorite band, Depeche Mode, through The Make-A-Wish Foundation, and lived to see graduation. At age 20, he opened up about his life with HIV after a decade of silence, creating one of the first "poz blogs" in 1996. After humorously describing his life, he caught the attention of Poz magazine and began writing a column entitled "Positoid", a word he created as a way to describe himself as someone living with HIV.

In 2006, his memoir, My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure, was published by the Penguin Group. Today, Shawn is happily married to his wife partner, Gwenn Barringer, and the two speak together as a couple, educating about how they keep her HIV-free in their safe and healthy relationship. (Hint: condoms.)

In his spare time, Shawn drinks iced mochas and fronts a synthpop duo, Synthetic Division. In 2010, he released a CD to commemorate the twenty-year anniversary of his dying wish to meet Depeche Mode. He lives with Gwenn in Charlottesville, Virginia.