2006 U.S. agrees to waive HIV/AIDS travel rule to attend Gay Games 2006

2006 U.S. agrees to waive HIV/AIDS travel rule

By Tribune staff
Published February 7, 2006

The federal government has ruled that non-U.S. citizens with HIV or AIDS can travel to attend Gay Games 2006, to be held in Chicago this summer.

The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world to deny entry to visitors infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.

But Gay Games co-Vice Chairman Kevin Boyer said the government routinely waives the rule for events like the Olympics and for conferences. The last Gay Games in the U.S., held in San Francisco in 1994, received a travel waiver from President Bill Clinton.

Boyer said the waiver had the support of Mayor Richard Daley and Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

The games will kick off at Soldier Field on July 15 and run through July 22. They are expected to attract thousands of visitors to the city.

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