Twenty-two years ago, the United States banned people with HIV/AIDS from entering the country in an effort to supposedly prevent the spread of the disease. Now, calling it a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, President Barack Obama has signed a bill in hopes of reducing the stigma of the disease, he said speaking at a recent news conference at the White House.

"We often speak about AIDS as if it's going on somewhere else,'' President Obama said at a news conference on Oct. 30th. "And for good reason -- this is a virus that has touched lives and decimated communities around the world, particularly in Africa. But often overlooked is the fact that we face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic of our own-right here in Washington, D.C. and right here in the United States of America.''

He went on to dismiss it as a so-called "gay disease" and said that if the U.S. is to be a global leader, it ought to behave as such. To that end, the administration eliminated the travel ban scheduled to take effect just after the New Year.

"Congress and President Bush began this process last year, and they ought to be commended for it,'' he said to applause. "We are finishing the job. It's a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives.''

The news conference was attended by political leaders, activists, HIV community advocates, and Jeanne White-Ginder, who was thrust into the spotlight in 1984 when her 13-year-old son, Ryan, of central Indiana contracted HIV/AIDS from a blood transfusion. While doctors assured people that that Ryan posed no risk to his classmates or his community, parents fought against his attendance at school, the president recalled. "Some even pulled their kids out of school. Things got so bad that the White family had to ultimately move to another town.''

In 1990, the year Ryan passed away, the late-Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), introduced the Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act. President Obama signed the fourth reauthorization of the Act.

"We can't give Ryan White back to Jeanne, back to his mom,'' President Obama said. "But what we can do -- what the legislation that I'm about to sign has done for nearly 20 years -- is honor the courage that he and his family showed. What we can do is to take more action and educate more people. What we can do is keep fighting each and every day until we eliminate this disease from the face of the Earth."