In the News - MI Man Arrested for Not Telling Tattoo Clients he Has HIV
Sunday September 7, 2008
Man Arrested for Not Telling Tattoo Clients he Has HIV
Gerald Campbell Jr., 32, of Crystal, Michigan, has been arrested for not informing his sex partners or his tattoo clients that he is HIV-positive. He has a criminal record and has already served prison time for attempted murder, so I'm guessing this guy didn't work in a professional studio. This is the risk you take when you get tattooed by someone out of their home just to save a few bucks. Anyone who came in contact with Campbell is being urged to be tested for HIV.
Gerald Campbell Jr., 32, of Crystal, Michigan, has been arrested for not informing his sex partners or his tattoo clients that he is HIV-positive. He has a criminal record and has already served prison time for attempted murder, so I'm guessing this guy didn't work in a professional studio. This is the risk you take when you get tattooed by someone out of their home just to save a few bucks. Anyone who came in contact with Campbell is being urged to be tested for HIV.
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Comments
Okay I agree the guy is a jerk for not telling his sex partners and he probably is a flakey tattoo artist but I gotta ask why should he be required to tell his tattoo clients? Especially if he’s using accepted sterile technique and wearing gloves. HIV isn’t passed by physical contact, it is passed by an exchange of blood and semen.
anyone doing tattoos deals with the risk of contagious deseases, a tattoo artist should be responsible for their actions at all times. Although theres alot of people out there willing to get tattooed by anyone no matter who they are or what they look like, that is their perrogative. Personally, at my studio I keep it all legit and sterile, I take tattooing serious. I do not think this guy had a legit tattoo studio.
The article did not state where he was tattooing and if it was in a studio how would the owner have known this guy had HIV unless someone told him? From the article we don’t know where he was tattooing and it also didn’t state that he wasn’t following universal precautions and sterility protocols.
The only basis that he might have spread HIV to clients is based on the fact that he is HIV positive, and to be totally blunt if the tattooist is following universal precautions and sterility protocols (which is something the article didn’t consider) then the risk of the artist spreading his own infection to a client is virtually nil (never say never).
Some people choose to put down artists who work out of their home because they assume way too much. Guy Atchinson works out of his house, so does that mean he is not working out of a professional studio?
There are bigots on both sides of the issue, don’t be one of them by not thinking before you write; “This is the risk you take when you get tattooed by someone out of their home just to save a few bucks.” complete nonsense!
Kudos to Greenman!