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US DOJ sues over Tennessee law targeting HIV-positive people convicted of sex work

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The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the state of Tennessee over a law that targets sex workers living with HIV. The federal lawsuit, filed yesterday (Thursday), argues that the Volunteer State’s law illegally imposes tougher criminal penalties on people who are HIV positive. Tennessee is the only state that imposes a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” for people with HIV convicted of engaging in sex work. The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit follows a DOJ investigation on the law in December that found the statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tennessee state lawmakers proposed measures last month to amend the statute by removing the lifetime sex offender registration requirement. The DOJ lawsuit seeks to stop enforcing the law, remove those convicted under that law from the sex offender registry and expunge their convictions.

Zoe Lewis is a senior at Murray State University from Benton, Kentucky. She is majoring in journalism with a minor in media production. She enjoys reading, going to movie theaters, spending time with her family and friends, and eating good food. Zoe is an Alpha Omicron Pi sorority member in the Delta Omega chapter. She is very excited to start working at WKMS and work while learning more about NPR, reporting, journalism, and broadcasting.
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