Supreme Court extends same-sex marriage nationwide

a reply to: xuenchen

You can't donate blood if you have ever had anal sex, regardless if you ACTUALLY have HIV or not, for one.

a reply to: xuenchen

Gay men can't donate blood.. though i think there is a plan to end that ban if we remain celibate for one year

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic
a reply to: xuenchen

www.hrc.org...

Thanks.

originally posted by: Darth_Prime
a reply to: xuenchen

Gay men can't donate blood.. though i think there is a plan to end that ban if we remain celibate for one year

I will read the link from BH above.

But how do they tell the "difference" ?

I know 2 gay people and they donate blood from time to time.

There's never been an issue that I know of.

a reply to: xuenchen

Why the FDA Bans Gays from Donating Blood

Despite several reexaminations over the last 15 years, American officials have kept the policy. The American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers, and Advancing Transfusion and Cellular Therapies Worldwide stated in a joint release in 2006 “that the current lifetime deferral for men who have had sex with other men is medically and scientifically unwarranted.”

I suppose one could lie ...

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Gryphon66

Yes, such is the eternal debate... Well at least reality based on observation doesn't result in you being imprisoned, tortured, or killed anymore (at least not in the 1st world). So progress IS being made.

Thanks. You actually choked me up a bit there.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

You can't donate blood if you have ever had anal sex, regardless if you ACTUALLY have HIV or not, for one.

Is that extended to heterosexuals?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: xuenchen

You can't donate blood if you have ever had anal sex, regardless if you ACTUALLY have HIV or not, for one.

Could you tell us, what exactly constitutes "anal sex" ? This could expose a huge "Grey area"...

Just curious being as how you brought it up...

originally posted by: xuenchen
But how do they tell the "difference" ?

They ask every man (gay or straight) if they've ever had sex with a man since 1977. The restrictions don't affect women, straight or gay.

I know 2 gay people and they donate blood from time to time.

Then maybe they haven't had sex or else they lie to the screener.

a reply to: zazzafrazz

Yeah, they ask that question of everyone, but it is clearly designed to single out homosexuals since they also ask you if you've ever been to prison then bar you from donating blood if you've been in prison for an extended length of time. Clearly buying into the stereotype that all inmates end up being raped in prison.

a reply to: olaru12

Men who have sex with men blood donor controversy

In the US, the current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to indefinitely defer any male donor who has had sex with another man (MSM), in the period from 1977 to the present day.[48] Starting in 2015, however, this ban will be lifted for healthy MSMs who have not had sex for a 12-month period.[49]

Female sexual partners of MSM are deferred for one year since the last exposure. This is the same policy used for any sexual partner of someone in a high risk group.[50] The argument used to follow these policies is that blood should be collected from a population that is at low risk for disease, since the tests are not perfect and human error may lead to infected units not being properly discarded, and these population groups would be considered a high risk. The policy was first put in place in 1983 by the FDA, which regulates blood donations to profit and non-profit organizations.[51]

Donors of what the FDA calls "HCT/P's", a category that includes transplants (other than organs) and some reproductive tissue, notably anonymous semen donations, are ineligible for five years after the most recent contact.[52] UNOS policies for Organ donation require the hospital receiving the organ to be notified if the donor was an MSM within the past 5 years.[53] The organs are generally used unless there is a clear positive test for a disease.

Even if they lift the Ban to the "One year celibate" it's still is a shaming tool for Bi or Gay men, same things religions do, tell us we must abstain from Sex...

If a family or friend needed a Blood transfusion we would be banned from giving them our Blood, or any other person that could use the Blood donation, i completely understand the need to be 100% careful when dealing with blood, but with the advancement of testing and the lack of diligence on non Bi Gay people it should be changed

a reply to: Darth_Prime

My husband and I both got "teary"... Beautiful!

Well crap...

I just deleted the whole post trying to edit...

Oh, well...

What I was going to say was I figured out the answer to my question...

Caffeine...need.

I was afraid to read stuff like this..

www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com...

a reply to: Darth_Prime

These are the same type of people who claim to believe in The Constitution, but now they are causing violent attacks on other people just because they are different from them and gained their right to be treated equally and allowed to marry.

Some of these people probably claim to be followers of Christ, who taught to love thy neighbour as thyself, turn the other cheek, and be merciful...

a reply to: arpgme

Right, they do it in the name of God, but that has happened throughout History, Wars Death and Violence in the Name of 'God' and 'Religion'

these are the same people that want to openly say bigoted and ignorant remarks and when someone calls them out on it say it's the "Leftest Liberal Progressive" police who want to control our speech and Freedoms..no, it's just people are becoming more aware of Bigotry and aware of what is offensive to some, yes they have the right to say what ever they want as loud as they want, but people also have the right to call them a Bigot

a reply to: Darth_Prime

It's funny how someone can call social shaming an attack on 1st amendment rights when in reality that is just an exercise in using the 1st amendment rights. It's like bigots expect to be able to flaunt their hatred publicly without any social consequences. Yeah, the state can't touch you, but we all have the right to free speech too and can tell you what we think of you and your hateful opinions.

a reply to: Darth_Prime

I get very angry when I hear/read/see these sorts of things. ...and I want to jump up and down on them while they make funny noises...

Some people just plain live their lives in fear. ...and the flip side of fear is hate. Deny it though they will, they fear.