A Year After Attacking Trans Soldiers Trump Goes After HIV+ Military Service Members

 It was one year ago today that Donald Trump tweeted his intention to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. armed forces.

Now, the Trump administration seems to be turning his attention to HIV positive service members.

A February 14 Department of Defense memo announced a new “Deploy or Get Out!” policy which goes into effect on October 1.

The new policy orders the Pentagon to discharge those service members who are unable to be deployed outside the U.S. for more than a year. According to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the point was to ensure “readiness” within the U.S. military.

But an existing DOD policy dating back to the height of the AIDS epidemic prohibits HIV+ service members from being deployed overseas. Therefore, the new guidance would appear to make it impossible to serve their country.

HIV+ folks are prohibited from enlisting in the Armed Forces. Soldiers who are already serving but later seroconvert are allowed to stay in the military, but cannot be deployed in combat or overseas.

Two soldiers have filed separate lawsuits - Doe v. Mattis and Harrison v. Mattis - hoping to stop the new policy from going into effect.

Forty-one-year old Sgt. Nick Harrison is afraid his life would be dramatically affected by the new policy.

From HIVPlusMag:

Sgt. Harrison hopes to make a difference for other members of the Armed Forces. He isn’t being secretive about his identity, either. Harrison was deployed to both Afghanistan and Kuwait, but was diagnosed with HIV shortly after returning home from Kuwait in 2012. “This case is not just about me,” Harrison said. “This is about every person living with HIV knowing that they can perform any job in the world, including serving in the military. Together, we must stop the Pentagon from closing its doors to successful and talented service members. I look forward to the day that I can serve my country to the full extent of my abilities, based on my performance and unfettered by unfounded fears and misperceptions about HIV.”

Harrison also claims that the military’s policy wrongfully blocked him from ascending to Judge Advocate General officer of the D.C. National Guard, reports Bloomberg, because members living with HIV also cannot achieve officer status.

Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal, issued this statement regarding the discriminatory policy:

“Soldiers, sailors, fighter pilots and marines are seeing their promising careers cut short, their dreams of service shattered and their health jeopardized due to antiquated notions about HIV and the stigma that results. This must end. If the court doesn’t intervene, the Trump administration will continue to discharge more promising service members living with HIV, denying them the ability to continue serving their country. Every day, people living with HIV are suffering professional setbacks and losing out on career advancement opportunities, and we are asking this court to put an end to these harmful actions.”

According to HIVPlusMag, approximately 1,200 service members could be affected by the policy change.

(h/t HIVPlusMag)

InstaHunk Jack Mackenroth Takes A Break From HIV Activism

Jack Mackenroth and Ralph (image via Instagram)

In 2008, while competing as a contestant on the reality series Project Runway, Jack Mackenroth shared with the world his HIV-positive status.

And since then, Mackenroth has dedicated much of his time working with HIV/AIDS non-profits as an outspoken activist.

In a new interview, Mackenroth tells HIV PLUS, “I don’t mind being a poster boy for HIV.”

“I was very cognizant of what I was doing when I came out on national TV a decade ago, because the HIV conversation had virtually disappeared from mainstream television,” he adds.

But after ten years of non-stop activism, the popular InstaHunk says he is “moving away from the non-profit sector” because he needs a break.

“The issue with non-profit stuff is that you are overworked and underpaid,” Mackenroth explains. “Like teachers, people expect that we should basically volunteer our services because we are doing important work.”

“I’m getting really close to 50, and I can’t be hoofing it all the time. It’s [also] relatively thankless work. I’m not doing it for accolades, but everyone likes… to feel like something beneficial is coming from your job.”

A post shared by Jack Mackenroth (@jackmackenroth) on Oct 22, 2017 at 4:55am PDT

Diagnosed with HIV at the age of 19 in 1990, Mackenroth didn’t plan for the future because he didn’t think he’d have one.

“I thought I was going to die at 25,” he told HIV. “My boyfriend died at 27. Until my mid-30s, I was like: ‘Why should I have a 401k?’ I wasn’t planning ahead. It’s been over the past decade, where I’m like, ‘I’m going to live. I need to plan for the future.’”

Now, years later, Mackenroth has gone back to university to obtain a degree in nursing, plus he’s recently launched an OnlyFans.com account in an effort to monetize his large Instagram fan base.

Even though he won’t be working in the non-profit arena, the hunk says he’ll never leave HIV activism completely. Thanks to social media, he admits, “I get two to three Instagram messages a day from someone in a foreign country who just found out [they’re HIV-positive].”

“I still respond to nearly everyone who reaches out,” he assures. “I’m always available to talk. I’m very accessible. [People can] message me on Twitter or Instagram.”

When talking about HIV, Mackenroth is big on promoting the message that undetectable equals untransmittable (U=U).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last October that HIV-positive people whose viral loads are suppressed to the point that they are undetectable cannot transmit HIV to sexual partners.

Mackenroth says people who are newly diagnosed with HIV often feel like, "I can never have sex again. I’m going to [transmit to] my partner.”

The former Project Runway star is emphatic in his advice: “Get on your meds, get undetectable, and you — and everyone else — will be fine!”

I highly recommend Angels In America on Broadway. It reminds me how much of the AIDS plague I have blocked out of my mind. It brings back so many emotions. I’ve cried 4 times already in the first 2 hours. I was diagnosed with HIV in 1989—only years after this play is taking place. I’ve been positive for 29 years. Statistically I should be dead. My boyfriend died in 1996 and I sat at his hospital bed for 4 weeks while he withered away. I was 27. The AIDS crisis is far from over. EVERY DAY I get at least one message here from someone who is newly diagnosed. It may look better than it did in the 80’s but all over the world people still die of AIDS. Know your status. In my opinion if you are HIV negative and in a high risk group you should be on #PrEP. Also know that HIV+ folks who are undetectable CAN NOT transmit HIV. I think Angels In America should have a night that is free for HIV+ people. Many of us are coping with PTSD and/or still struggling and can not afford a $300 ticket. It would be a noble way to honor the people that the play is centered around and to remember those who have died. #activist #hiv #knowyourstatus #fuckstigma #angelsinamerica #uequalsu #undetectable #aidsisnotover @angelsbway #weareallangels #whatliftsyou

A post shared by Jack Mackenroth (@jackmackenroth) on Jun 13, 2018 at 1:18pm PDT

Social Experiment: "I'm HIV+"

Even though we are 35+ years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the social stigma attached to the virus continues to leave many paralyzed with fear.

With that in mind, George Hankers, a HIV-positive blogger, stood blindfolded in the middle of Trafalgar Square with a sign asking strangers to leave him a message of positivity on a giant poster board.

The incredible amount of love and support from people who wanted him to know that he is not alone was overwhelming for Hankers.

From Mashable:

Hankers' blindfold is symbolic of his feelings after he was first diagnosed with HIV. He battled with very low self-esteem and felt he'd "been blinded from hope." But this social experiment has restored his sense of hope.

"The sense of unity I had after the experiment was very heartwarming — people would touch my hand or reach out and give me a hug," says Hankers. "It made me want to take off the blindfold and not be sheltered from their generosity. It really goes to show that there is more comfort out there for people living with HIV than we initially think."

You may recall a similar video experiment a couple years wherein a Finnish man stood next to a sign which read, “I’m HIV-Positive. Touch me.”

Follow Hankers' blog at StillHumanBlog.com.

First HIV+ Donor To HIV+ Patient Transplants

Big news for HIV+ patients who are in need of an organ transplant.

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center have successfully performed both liver and kidney transplants from an HIV+ donor to HIV+ patients.

From the Los Angeles Times:

In a first that gives HIV-infected patients yet another chance for long lives, surgeons at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center have transplanted a kidney and a liver from a dead donor who was HIV-positive into two HIV-positive recipients.

The transplant surgeries, which used organs donated by the family of an HIV-positive woman, ended a 25-year stretch in which the organs of HIV-infected people willing to donate them were rejected for use in transplants.

The experimental procedure follows the 2013 enactment of the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, or HOPE, which repealed the ban on using such organs for transplantation.

“This is an unbelievably exciting day for our hospital and our team, but more importantly for patients living with both HIV and end-stage organ disease,” said Dr. Dorry L. Segev, the Johns Hopkins surgeon who performed the surgeries.

There are over 120,000 patients on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network’s waiting list. On average, 22 patients die every day while awaiting an available organ.

You can watch a Reuters report here.

Russia looks to mandate fingerprinting of HIV+ people

A bill has been introduced in the Russian legislature that would require the fingerprinting of HIV+ people.

RT reports:

Roman Khudyakov[State Duma deputy Roman Khudyakov] explained he came up with the idea because sometimes infected people change their names and disappear from the state system. Khudyakov says fingerprinting would make it impossible. In addition, universal fingerprinting would make it easier to fight crime, reduce the amount of bureaucratic red tape, and solve many social problems where quick identification is often required.

The bill on universal fingerprinting was drafted by the Liberal Democratic party in August last year. It orders every Russian resident, regardless of citizenship, to register at their place of permanent residence and undergo fingerprinting. The current bill suggests those who refuse can be punished with 50,000 ruble fines (about $1400) and non-citizens could be deported, and banned from entering Russia for 15-years. The bill has been supported by the government but there have been no parliamentary debates on it yet.

HIV Plus Mag points out that due to the stigmatization of the LGBT community in Russia, the law is likely to pass.

(via Towleroad)

Music video: "Glacier" by John Grant

Via press release:

John Grant is proud to share his unflinching and moving new video for "Glacier," off his 2013 album Pale Green Ghosts.

The song's lyrics tackle the experience of suffering from struggles associated with homophobia (John is publicly out and HIV positive) -- but they are universal in how they tackle all types of oppression -- and are ultimately uplifting and empowering.

The video juxtaposes these themes with footage from various moments in LGBT history. From news footage during WWII and Wizard of Oz, all the way through Stonewall and Harvey Milk, culminating with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the legalization of gay marriage, and Blue Is The Warmest Color.

More information on John Grant at: http://www.johngrantmusic.com