Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is planning to skip out on his job if he wins a US senate seat, (he also pulled a Sarah Palin to jump from the Unicameral* to his current job) is well known in Nebraska for his comments to an AP reporter following his discovery that a Massachusetts court had approved gay marriage: "Does that mean you have to allow a man to marry his pet or a man to marry his chair?"
His bill, LB 226, received a great deal of support in a Monday hearing in Lincoln, but several witnesses objected.
...opponents argued the bill might already be overly broad and could add to misconceptions about how HIV is contracted.
As the bill is written, a person who sneezed on an officer during a traffic stop could face criminal charges, said Amy Miller with the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The measure would criminalize the act of simply throwing or emitting bodily fluids in the direction of an officer, whether it hit the officer or not, Miller said.
"I can't think of another example where we've criminalized behavior that does not, in fact, cause any bodily harm," she said.
Public school district representatives testified in a neutral capacity, taking the unusual position that the bill was both too broad and too narrow.
Mary Campbell with the Lincoln Public Schools system questioned whether lawmakers intend to criminalize behaviors of developmentally disabled students who might spit or vomit on a school resource officer.
"And if it is the intent ... are we then, by criminalizing it only against police, condoning the same behavior directed at a teacher?" she asked.
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The Nebraska Aids Project had this to say:
We are writing you today to ask that you activate your personal networks to contact Senators about this bill. Let’s be clear, we are all in favor of the protection of law enforcement and public safety officers, but the way this bill is written and the way it targets HIV causes more harm than good, especially since already existing assault statutes (like those in other states) are more than adequate in dealing with this issue.
We need to make special efforts to voice our opinions to Senator Gloor, as well as the Senators on the Judiciary Committee. Letters and phone calls work the best. You will probably speak to one of their staff. Please remember to be respectful in voicing your opinion.
Senator Gloor, Grand Island (introducer): (402) 471-2617, mgloor@leg.ne.gov
Senator Ashford, Omaha (Chair of Judiciary): (402) 471-2622, bashford@leg.ne.gov
Senator Colby Coash, Lincoln (Judiciary): (402) 471-2632, ccoash@leg.ne.gov
Senator Brenda Council, Omaha (Judiciary): (402) 471-2612, bcouncil@leg.ne.gov
Senator Burke Harr, Omaha (Judiciary): (402) 471-2722, bharr@leg.ne.gov
Senator Tyson Larson, O’Neill/Randolph (Judiciary): (402) 471-2801, tlarson@leg.ne.gov
Senator Steve Lathrop, Omaha (Judiciary): (402) 471-2623, slathrop@leg.ne.gov
Senator Scott Laughtenbaugh, Omaha/Blair (Judiciary): (402) 471-2618, slaughtenbaugh@leg.ne.gov
Senator Amanda McGill, Lincoln (Judiciary): (402) 471-2610, amcgill@leg.ne.gov
Here is a copy of the bill. Go here to find your Senator.
Some basic talking points 1) Criminalizing spitting and biting of HIV positive persons flies in the face of all established science; 2) It codifies discrimination and the exceptional treatment of HIV (and in this case Hepatitis) which encourages stigma; 3) In light of the actual risk of harm to police and correctional officers, the punishment is draconian; 4) The proposed language puts serious strain on the relationship between doctors and HIV positive patients and undermines the hard work that public health professionals do; and 5) The proposed bill contradicts the National AIDS Strategy...
The biggest point to communicate is: we are all in favor of the protection of law enforcement and public safety officers, but the way this bill is written and the way it targets HIV causes more harm than good, especially since already existing assault statutes (like those in other states) are more than adequate in dealing with this issue.
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*Nebraska only has a senate. It got rid of its House of Representatives during the Depression to save money.
