Obama Lifts Ban on Travelers with HIV or AIDS

A dirty, outdated secret of our travel industry has been brought to light and annihilated.

The United States — "land of the free" — was, until recently, a member of a long-standing contingency of countries that would not allow travelers with HIV or AIDS to visit, except under very special conditions. Bizarrely, the US was among Brunei, China, Equatorial Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen in its ban on visitors suffering from HIV/AIDS.

The good news is that as of Jan. 4, 2010, we are no longer on that list.

This is cause for celebration. The 22-year-old Reagan-era law was antiquated, created at a time when people were afraid to hug their brothers and sisters with AIDS because they didn't know any better. Naturally we don't want a bunch of sick people coming in and trying to infect us, but anyone with their common sense intact knows that such a fear is irrational and that people with HIV and AIDS can live long lives and have just as much of a right to see the world as the rest of us.

President Obama has, yet again, proven himself to be the proud owner of a good dose of common sense. Watch his speech from back in October as he signed the Ryan White Act:

The Obama administration is currently planning to host the 2012 World Aids Conference. For more information on traveling with HIV or AIDS, including restrictions, visit hivtravel.org.

Photo by Seattle Miles via Flickr.