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A NORTHERN IRISH politician has admitted that he did not know that heterosexual people could contract HIV, in a Stormont debate calling for a new awareness campaign on the virus.
BBC News reports that DUP’s Trevor Clarke had previously thought that only homosexual people could contract HIV, until a charity explained the facts to him.
“When I came here in 2007,” he said. “I would have dismissed the possibility that I would speak about HIV today, because I was one of those who did not understand the stigma attached to it.”
Clarke, along with two DUP colleagues, proposed yesterday’s debate on a new HIV awareness campaign and increasing support for the work of the charity Positive Life, which helps people living with HIV in Northern Ireland.
He argued against an amendment to the proposal put forward by People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann.
McCann had proposed that the campaign stressed the disproportionate impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men.
He said that it was foolish to believe that the stigma associated with HIV arose because heterosexual people with the condition may be thought of as being gay.
McCann also referred to Ian Paisley’s “Save Ulster from Sodomy” campaign, which was launched in 1977 but failed to prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland.
“What’s wrong with sodomy anyway?” he asked.
In arguing against McCann’s amendment, Clarke said:
I am not trying to get a rise out of Mr McCann when I say this, but I feel that his amendment, had he moved it, would have been unhelpful to people who, like me, were ignorant of the fact that this disease can affect heterosexuals.
“I think that we should talk about all who suffer with this condition; not just those who have the highest risk,” he added.
McCann retorted by claiming that Clarke’s reasoning was an “unconsciously homophobic intervention”.
The DUP motion on a new campaign for HIV awareness and prevention was passed in Stormont.
The CEO of HIV charity Positive Life welcomed the steps taken by Trevor Clarke and thanked him for bringing the issue forward.
Jacquie Richardson / TwitterThanks to @TrevorClarkeMLA 4 huge support and frank contribution to the debate https://t.co/IIOfDnSULB
— Jacquie Richardson (@CEOPositiveLife) November 29, 2016
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Instead of criticising him, how about we applaud the fact he made such an embarrassing admission and is taking steps to correct it. There are many bigots who say things like “AIDS is god punishing the gays”. If you’re in that bubble it’s not surprising that you don’t have all the facts. There is nothing wrong with his proposal to raise general awareness instead of just awareness for most vulnerable groups. The campaign could do both.
Yes, I agree, however he represents those who vote for him?
Does he also know that men cant get pregnant ?
They can’t? My belly has been slowly getting bigger for years. What the hell could it be?
@Dessie Curley: Have you seen the film ‘Alien’?
The DUP ladies and gentlemen.
@Cillian McCormick: If this is indicative of the DUP, we could do with some of that down south!
When was the last time you saw any politician or political party admit their flaws and humbly acknowledge their mistakes?
Stubborn ignorance has been a prevailing mentality for far too long and people throwing stones at his former ignorance, well, their glass houses must be pretty drafty at this point.
In this day and age this is quite amazing but fair play. Hopefully it will start a conversation about HIV and sexual persuasions.
He must be from the Healy Rae school of scientific thought
Does he know the Earth isn’t flat?
Wow just wow
Waterford whispers news must be kicking themselves having missed such a gem of a headline. The mind truly boggles.
What rock was this guy under the last 20 year…..you can be sure he wasent stuck for company under that rock…….we have the biggest rock in the world looks like in the cabbage patch
Wow! More Brains in a Turnip
Ignorance personified
Their party only knows bigotry. So of course he didn’t, not even news.
Some truth in that very few heterosexual men will get hiv
@joe Do you have a link for that claim?
There’s millions of infected heterosexual men infected in the developing world
It does effect gays disproportionately
Your comment makes u as ignorant as him
From the article above: “He argued against an amendment to the proposal put forward by People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann. McCann had proposed that the campaign stressed the disproportionate impact of HIV on gay and bisexual men.”
*affect
@Colm O’Connor: maybe colm but they didn’t contract it by having sex with women.
@Anthony Healy Poroloniczak: ignorance is a lack of knowledge. So I will pass on some knowledge to you. Men very rarely contract HIV by having sex with women, that is a fact. Feel free to show your ignorance by denying this.
@joe please show a link to where you got that information.
@Maurice: It isn’t an attack on homosexuals to say that. It’s a fact. 46% of new HIV cases in Europe are in the set of MSM. Men that have sex with men. https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.drugs.ie/resourcesfiles/ResearchDocs/Ireland/2015/HSE_HIV_2014.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjxyJCIodDQAhWmKMAKHXQuD4MQFggnMAE&usg=AFQjCNE_grIWQLI2YghrRU1-XLLF_pEdgA&sig2=BTXDDmc4647hBS8Ssfo4bw
49% of new cases in Ireland are in the MSM group. Gay men should already know this. It’s not gay bashing to say this. If you are gay and don’t believe this then you are in denial.
@Maurice Bourke:
There’s lots of studies with but the numbers seem to support the view that there’s less risk for the man in a hetro relationship
http://www.catie.ca/en/pif/summer-2012/putting-number-it-risk-exposure-hiv
@hugh @joe. I wasn’t going to accuse anyone of gay bashing. I like to ask for links when someone makes a claim that sounds dubious, nothing more.
They do Joe. Any kind of abrasion or damage to skin or mucus membranes is an entry point for for the virus and while it’s less likely that a man will be infected by a woman it can and does happen. Mouth ulcers, STIs, BDSM practices are all additional risk factors.
BREAKING NEWS: DUP politician admits to being an ignorant thick.
Oh, dear. Deary dear oh dear..
HIV is a disease?
I thought it was a trucker license.
In the developed world it is predominantly a gay disease. Lets not ignore the statistics and treat the disease like the common cold, it has made a comeback among younger gay men in recent years.
Whenever I hear the word sodomy I get this song stuck in my head for days. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulb0pLBgRCw
What the…..?
The film is Meet the Feebles. It was directed by none other than Peter Jackson before he hit the big time.
@jumperoo: Bet you it’s in your head now.
@Hugh Mannatee: Your doing it wrong if it starts playing music?
S#!t kicker
The importance of sex education
To me this confirms one of my theories. There is a substantial portion of the Irish Population (and possible other populations) and their politicians who are a thick as planks. (more in keeping with the intelect of a crow than a person). They can get to comprehend comflex matters, but it takes them 30 to 40 times as long as me. If there is a particular emergency pushed on them, they will try to figure it out and this can abridge the time womewhat.
Their financial management system is “hold on to everything with a death’s grip” and try to persuade their relations to leave them goodies in their wills. This DUP one believes the AIDS virus is sexually sellective. I experience the same effect when I try to tell people wind energy is a scam and does not work at all. Its just an illegal subsidy racket. See valmartinireland you tube and the Irish Energy Blog (where I contribute)
The same in advising people not to buy newpapers and note to vote in elections. Its a fact of life, better get used to it.
@Val Martin: Yeah Val, I know someone who has the same issue when no one listens to him about Dinosaurs existing along side Humans.. It must be frustrating.
Shhh leave him alone and he’ll go back to telling NASA how stupid they are
I heard crows were quite smart Val.
Proposing an awareness campaign now he knows straight people can get it too. Ok for the gays to get sick though coz God hates fags.
It is almost impossible for a man to contract hiv from a woman since there is no transfer of fluid from woman to man. magic Johnson became hiv positive in 1991. since he said he was having sex with different women 3 or 4 times a day he said he got hiv from a women. cut to an expert. “impossible” the expert says. “statistically you’d have to have sex with over a million women to contract hiv” then magic Johnson admitted he had sex with men.
@Patrick Gough: No transfer of fluid from woman to man? What dried up women are you having sex with???
@Donal Martin: I’d say one of the highlights of Patrick’s sex life was when he go an inflatable sex doll for his birthday and immediately fell in love with it.
Don’t you put it in the belly button?
Not almost impossible Patrick. Just more difficult. See my comment in response to Joe O Hair
@ Patrick. I would say something but the stupidity of that comment speaks for itself.
@Patrick Gough: Patrick that is a dangerous thing to believe…
The birds and the bees Bible lesson???
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