Parrott has also set up a web site to answer accusations.
Trone Parrott
Frederick, Md (KM) Sixth District Republican Congressional candidate Neil Parrott said a new website has been set up to refute accusations against him by Incumbent Democratic Representative David Trone. . The web address is www.theTruthAboutTroneandParrott.com.
At a news conference Wednesday in front of the Frederick County Court House, Parrott addressed one accusation that he called for placing tattoos on men, women and children who test positive for HIV. He did not deny he said that. “Two decades ago, HIV was a death sentence and an epidemic. The idea was to protect certain people at risk, and never in a visible location,”: he said.
But Parrott said when treatments became available for HIV, he recanted that statement. “David Trone’s twisting of this decades-old, already resolved issue is the greatest example of wielding political power and wealth to mislead and to hurt people,” Parrott said. “And not just hurting his political opponent. But he’s hurting people who are dealing with HIV right now.”
Congressman Trone’s campaign issued a statement saying “whether Neil Parrott supported government-mandated-tattoos for people living with HIV in 2005 or yesterday, it doesn’t change the fact that this so-called solution was extreme and cruel.” The statement went on to say “even today, he did not apologize or show remorse for his position but rather fumbled through a half-hearted explanation saying he only changed his mind because of the availability of new medication.”
According to the Daily Kos, which is described as a group blog and an internet forum focused on the Democratic Party and liberal American politics, Parrott did make those comments about tattooing HIV positive patients in 2005 in a letter to the Hagerstown Herald Mail. At that time, he said the tattoo should be “in a spot covered by a bathing suit” as a way to warn potential sex partners about their status. The Daily Kos says Parrott goes on to say: “An effective way to enforce the consistency of a tattoo would be to provide medicine to the infected individual only after they have received the HIV tattoo.”
But he abandoned that idea when medical advances made HIV more treatable, according to the Daily Kos.
Parrott says his website will set the record straight about accusations made by Trone. “At the-truth-about-Trone-and-Parrott–dot–com, you’ll find each one of Trone’s accusations about me. You’ll find the factual responses with links; and you’ll find Trone’s voting record based on those issues,”: he said.
He also pointed out that an article in “The Economist” which says the race for the 6th District Congressional seat in Maryland is the eighth tightest in the country.
As part of his news conference, Parrott has challenged Trone to a debate in Frederick. He said Trone has agreed to participate in forums in western Maryland, but he has not agreed to any forums in Frederick or Montgomery County.
Trone is scheduled to visit Frederick on Thursday afternoon.
By Kevin McManus