HIV+ U.S. Soldier Charged With Assault With Deadly Weapon

Published: July 20, 2007, 3:30 am

Tags: homophobia, military, public policy, aids, news analysis, hiv

Joe My God alerted me to this curious story of an HIV+ soldier who was essentially arrested for having unprotected sex with a 17-year old male in North Carolina. Pfc. Johnny Lamar Dalton, a 25-year-old assigned to the 22nd Aviation Support Battalion which is part of the 82nd Airborne, was arrested last week and is being held on a $50,000 bond. There are at least two interesting aspects of this case which are revealed in the details of various media reports. One, the fact that Dalton's military superiors knew of his HIV status and made the soldier sign a contract agreeing not to have unprotected sex with any other individuals last November. In addition, the military did not immediately begin "separation" (discharge) proceedings when they discovered Dalton's HIV status. Third, North Carolina apparently still has a law enforcing a "crime against nature" as well as public health laws which "mandate certain control measures for HIV+ people."Specificially,[Maj. Tom Earnhardt, an 82nd

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