For the second time, Jeanne White-Ginder, represented by the Human Rights Campaign and the AIDS Institute, has sent a letter to presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, asking him to meet with White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White. White, at age 13, was diagnosed with AIDS and expelled from his school twenty-three years ago, and his case came to national attention. He died in 1990 at the age of 18.
White-Ginder, HRC and the AIDS Institute are interested in talking with Huckabee because of comments he made in 1992, when he said that people with AIDS should be isolated, even though it was an established fact that the syndrome could not be spread through casual contact. Just three days ago, the former Arkansas governor said that he stands by his belief that AIDS patients and individuals carrying HIV should be isolated.
The letter states: “We look forward to discussing our experiences and personal insight with you and your campaign. This was not and is not an issue of ‘political correctness,’ as you have stated previously. Rather, this is an issue of valuing science-based evidence over unfounded fear or prejudice.”
