Tennessee faces suit over penalties targeting HIV-positive people

NASHVILLE — LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution statute, arguing the law stems from the decadesold AIDS scare and discriminates against HIVpositive people.

The sweeping complaint details how Tennessee is the only state in the United States that imposes a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” if convicted of engaging in sex work while living with HIV, regardless of whether or not the person knew they could transmit the disease.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Transgender Law Center filed the challenge in the U.S. District Court in Memphis on behalf of four plaintiffs and OUTMemphis, a nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ people. The groups contend that HIV is a protected disability and that singling out people with HIV with harsher penalties violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as other constitutional protections.

“This statute solely targets people because of their HIV status and keeps them in cycles of poverty while posing absolutely zero benefit to public health and safety,” said Molly Quinn, executive director of OUTMemphis, in a statement. “HIV stigma is becoming a thing of the past, and it’s time for state law to catch up.”

Gov. Bill Lee, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch and Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada are all named as defendants in the case. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, who represents the state, did not immediately return an emailed request for comment on Tuesday.

Prostitution has long been criminalized as a misdemeanor in Tennessee. However, in 1991 — as the AIDS epidemic provoked panic and misinformation over prevention was prevalent — Tennessee lawmakers enacted an aggravated prostitution statute, which was a felony and applied only to sex workers living with HIV. The law was later reclassified in 2010 as a “violent sexual offense,” requiring those convicted to face lifetime sex offender registration.