Spreading the HIV virus knowingly could become a felony if a new bill in the Ohio General Assembly is passed.Legislative Act 122 would make it a felony for a person to engage in sexual conduct, if they know they have HIV or AIDS, without informing their partner.The bill would also make it a felony for someone with HIV or AIDS, who know they have either disease, to engage in sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18, regardless if the minor knows of their partner’s condition.Right now, there are no legal sanctions against these activities, said Rep. Ron Young, (R-Painesville), the sponsor of the bill.Spurred by the recent case in New York involving Nushawn Williams and the arrest of James Russell in Euclid, Ohio, Young felt compelled to introduce the bill. Both Williams and Russell were aware they were HIV-positive and willingly engaged in sexual relations with a number of partners without telling them their HIV status.Until Russell was charged with raping one of his sexual partners, nothing could be done to stop him, Young said. The Columbus AIDS Task Force opposes this bill.”This is yet another law that stigmatizes AIDS,” said Joseph Davy, policy advocate for the task force. “We need more laws that make it easier to promote (AIDS) prevention and care.””This bill completely ignores the psychological side effects that go along with finding out that one is HIV positive,” Davy said. “It also ignores everyone’s own responsibility to protect oneself.” The task force believes current statutes cover such crimes, he said. In other states, legal language regarding physical harm have been used to prosecute these kinds of crimes.John Murphy, executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, disagrees.Murphy said the bill is necessary because of the nature of the virus. People with HIV can take years to show symptoms, so proving actual harm would be difficult without a bill like this.The bill is not legislating the spread of the disease, but it is legislating people who put others at risk, he said.