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From CBS News, January 2006:

(AP) Roman Catholic priests in a Colombian town are furious over a councilman's proposal that people 14 and older must carry a condom at all times to reduce unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.William Pena, a councilman in Tulua, said Wednesday he will present a formal proposal requiring all men and women _ even those just on a visit to the town _ to carry at least one condom. Those caught empty-pocketed could be fined $180 or ordered to take a safe sex course, he said."Sexual relations are going on constantly," Pena told The Associated Press in an interview. "If you carry a condom, chances are you'll use it during the day. It's not going to be there forever."Tulua has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Colombia, he said. The proposal will be debated by other town leaders and could go into effect by March.Roman Catholic priests in the Cauca Valley town, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, were fuming over the plan.The Rev. Jesus Velasquez said it would only encourage sexual relations and ridiculed it as absurd. "I would have to have a condom even though I'm a member of the clergy," he was quoted as saying in the newspaper El Tiempo.Another town priest, the Rev. Roberto Sarmiento, said improved sex education would be a better solution."Nobody can force someone to carry a condom in their pocket," he said. "They should instead carry the responsibility of what sexual relations mean."Ramiro Cano, a 19-year-old laborer in Tulua, said Wednesday the proposal was the talk of the town and most young people he talked to support it."I try to always carry a condom on me, especially if I go to a discotheque, in case I can pick someone up," Cano said.The proposal is perhaps the most radical in a series of pro-condom efforts across Colombia, where 190,000 people are infected with the HIV virus, a figure only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil, according to the World Health Organization.The capital city of Bogota handed out more than 2 million free condoms last year as part of a campaign titled "Use it instinctively _ make yourself sexy."In the city of Tunja, where 17 percent of all pregnancies last year were to women under 18 years of age, condom dispensers will be installed in bars and movie theaters starting in February.MMV The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.