The postings above were taken from a local hook-up site. Besides correcting a few spelling and grammatical errors and omitting personal information to keep the postings anonymous, they are word for word.

Following the Gay & Lesbian Times cover story “Young & poz,” a member from the community sent us a copy of a posting (one of the five cited above) which sparked a heated debate in the editorial department and among GLT staff. Knowing that one of these posts was from someone HIV positive, a discussion ensued about unsafe sex, responsibility and disclosure.

The scenario: Let’s say you are HIV positive, and you post an ad similar to those listed above. What is your responsibility? One staff member pointed out the responsibility of the HIV-negative participant:

If you’re negative, he reasoned, it is your job to stay negative. Why are you having bareback sex if you want to stay negative? Shouldn’t you know what you’re getting into?

The circle of staff, now fully immersed in the discussion, had varying responses to his remark.

Isn’t it the responsibility of the person infected with HIV to disclose his status, another staff member challenged, adding that it may even be illegal not to disclose when engaged in unprotected sex?

Other staff members sat quietly. When asked, they said that there really isn’t an answer. There are too many variables. Do we really know if people cruising on hook-up sites eventually disclose in further e-mails or prior to having sex? Another person said that you just have to assume everybody is positive. Even if you ask, how do you really know? Are you willing to take that risk?

Most agreed that we each must take personable responsibility for our own actions, and acknowledged that we alone are responsible for our decisions and our bodies. We cannot expect our sex partners to disclose – even if they should. And we acknowledged that people often transmit HIV when they are unaware of their status.

One snag did come out of this reasoning, however. Referring back to the “Young & poz” feature, one of the interviewees for the article, when describing how he became positive, said that he never would have believed someone who knew they were positive would have had unprotected insertive sex with him (and neither can we). Naïve, perhaps, but with prevention and education funding almost nonexistent, and high schools unable to provide safe-sex education in a gay subtext, should we expect that all new members of our community, especially at a vulnerable age, understand the rules of the game?

This compelling argument got most of us – but not all – to agree that if you’re positive, you must disclose. Unanimously, the staff found it criminal to lie about one’s status when asked prior to engaging in unsafe-sex practices.

As we filed out from the staff meeting, side discussions continued to fuel the debate, and the trickle back to work was slow despite the relative consensus.

Is there no right or wrong answer in this debate? And if we haven’t come to a consensus, shouldn’t we?

What do you think? Take part in this discussion by sending us your opinion. All letters to the editor must be 500 words or less and can be e-mailed to editor@uptownpub.com, or sent to the address listed in our masthead. Please include your full name, address and phone number. Only your name will be published. Your address and phone number are for verification purposes only. If you do not want your comments published but want to participate in the discussion, please indicate this in your letter or e-mail. Help us address this important community issue.