October 6, 2008 9:30:26 PM CDT
(Newser) – HIV-positive journalist Andrew Sullivan is “ecstatic” over yesterday's passage by the Senate of a bill that would lift a US ban on visitors and immigrants with the virus that causes AIDS, he writes in his Atlantic blog. "I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the happiest days of my whole life," writes the openly gay, British Sullivan, who plans to pursue citizenship.
“I've lived with this awful sense of insecurity, of fear of leaving the country, of visiting my family, of the lingering sense that my virus rendered me potentially deportable, that any roots I put down might be dug up suddenly one day—for 15 years," Sullivan continues. "The lifting of this threat—the sense that I now have a home I know will be secure for me and my husband—is indescribable."
Source Daily Dish (The Atlantic)
Sep 12, 08 2:55 AM CDT Sen. Ted Kennedy has crafted a sweeping national service bill, to be introduced today, that would recruit 175,000 citizens of all ages to work in health, education, environmental protection and anti-poverty programs—with their pay partially subsidized by the government. The plan would provide $5 billion over five years to encourage citizens to work in community organizations—including faith-based groups—on programs aimed at solving national problems. More »
Jul 16, 08 4:31 PM CDT The Senate moved today to repeal a ban on allowing immigrants and vistors who are HIV-positive to enter the country, the AP reports. The measure was part of a $50 billion bill to combat AIDS worldwide. The US is one of only a dozen countries—including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Libya—that forbids the entry of visitors with AIDS. More »
May 14, 08 6:06 PM CDT The US is one of only 12 countries (including Sudan, Moldova and Libya) that flouts UN law by barring HIV-positive visitors or immigrants—and the restriction must end, writes Andrew Sullivan in the Washington Post. The HIV-positive Sullivan, a senior editor at Atlantic magazine, remains in the US only with the help of “great lawyers, a rare O visa…a government-granted HIV waiver” and endless legal fees—and he’s one of the lucky ones. More »
Feb 1, 08 7:40 PM CST Should would-be immigrants to the United Kingdom be required to know the population of Wales when a majority of Britons don't? Only one in seven natives would pass the test required to get a passport, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government says the bar should be set high even as critics say it's prohibitively so. More »
Jan 25, 08 5:40 PM CST Over one million immigrants will have to wait up to 18 months before become US citizens due to a massive bureaucratic backlog nationwide. Applications surged last summer ahead of a fee increase of nearly 75%, the Boston Globe reports, helping create the paper jam. Before the increase, the average immigrant waited six months to be processed. More »
Senate • immigration • gay rights • citizenship • Andrew Sullivan
