Is the Ban on Blood Donations by Gay Men Coming to an End?

According to The Los Angeles Times, Washington federal health officials announced Friday that they would reexamine a 27-year-old set of restrictions on blood donations by gay men.

The restrictions, enacted in the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, impose a lifetime ban on men donating blood if they've had sex with another man at any time since 1977.

In recent years, the American Red Cross, the American Assn. of Blood Banks and America's Blood Centers, which collectively represent almost all blood banks in the country, have recommended loosening the restrictions to allow men who have abstained from gay sex for one year to donate blood.

The American Medical Assn. also has proposed revising the policy but recommended a five-year instead of a one-year waiting period.

Gay rights groups also have pushed for a change in the donor policy, arguing that it stigmatizes gay men and does not adequately address threats to blood safety posed by high-risk heterosexual behaviors.

Changes in the rule have been opposed by hemophilia patient groups. People with hemophilia, a bleeding disorder, are heavy users of blood products, and about 10,000 were infected with HIV in the late 1970s and early 1980s before the current limits were put in place. Thousands of those infected with the virus subsequently died.

Last week, a group of 18 senators, led by John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote to the Food and Drug Administration urging it to revisit the policy on donations by gay men, calling it "outdated, medically and scientifically unsound."

Improvements in testing technology allow for a revision in the donation rules without threatening the safety of the blood supply, the letter said.

The FDA last examined the donation protocols in 2006 but left the restrictions in place.

The FDA "has been actively engaged in reexamining the issue of blood donor deferral for men who have had sex with other men, taking into account the current body of scientific information, and we are considering the possibility of pursuing alternative strategies that maintain blood safety," the agency said in a statement.

The issue will be examined by the Department of Health and Human Services' blood safety committee in June, according to the statement.

Mississippi High School that Forbade Same-sex Prom Dates Cancels Prom

Earlier this week, we wrote about a Mississippi High School that forbade a student from bringing a same-sex date and wearing a tuxedo to the prom. This student, Constance McMillen, went to the ACLU, who demanded that the high school allow Constance to bring her girlfriend and wear a tux.

The school has responded. ABC News reports that “…the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, ‘due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events.’" They did not mention McMillen or the ACLU in the statement. The school went on to say (as quoted in the same article), “‘It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors,’ district officials said in the statement. ‘However, at this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District, after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students.’”

So now, rather than change their policy that only opposite-sex couples may attend the prom, the high school has decided that there will be no prom for anyone.

Read the full article online here.

PFLAG’s VP Weighs in on Adoption and Foster Care Bill

Yesterday, Family Equality Council and PFLAG hosted a briefing on the Every Child Deserves a Family Act at the Capitol. Many children are denied permanent homes and loving family members because of discriminatory bans in some states. This bill would open more loving, permanent homes for many children in foster care by restricting federal funding to states that do not allow people to foster and adopt because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

PFLAG’s vice president, Mike Neubecker, wrote an op-ed on this important issue, and we’re happy to share his article with you! Click here to read Mike Neubecker’s article on The Huffington Post.

Washington State Passes Inclusive Anti-Bullying Law

The Washington state Senate passed an enumerated anti-bullying law last week. The House had already passed the law, and now Governor Christine Gregoire has pledged to sign the bill into law as soon as it gets on her desk. According to The Advocate: “The law will require, among other things, each school district to create a structure to manage harassment and bullying complaints, and to publish online its policies and procedures for dealing with complaints.”

As wonderful as this news is, it gets even better. The Senate passed the bill 48-0, while the House had passed the bill 97-0. Clearly, Washington state lawmakers understand the importance of safe schools for all students.

PFLAG is, of course, a great supporter of safe schools initiatives. Check out PFLAG’s safe schools program here.

Read the full article on The Advocate online here.

Take Action Today on Important Adoption and Foster Care Legislation!

Today Representative Pete Stark (CA-13) introduced Every Child Deserves a Family Act (H.R. 4806), a child welfare bill that takes into consideration the best interests of children in the foster care system. The bill would open up permanent homes to more foster youth by working with states to eliminate laws, policies, practices and procedures that exclude potential adoptive and foster parents because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.

As the House Ways and Means Committee begins to review and analyze this bill, we need you to urge your representative to co-sponsor this critically important legislation that will help give foster children permanent, safe and supportive homes.

E-mail Your Representative TODAY!

Tragically, approximately 125,000 foster children across the US are waiting to be adopted. With only 50,000 adoptions each year, there is a clear shortage of adoptive parents. The result is that children, especially minority and special needs children, languish in foster care and bounce from placement to placement. The 25,000 youth who never find a permanent family and "age out" of the system each year are more likely than nearly any other group to experience poverty, homelessness, incarceration, early pregnancy or suffer with mental illness or substance abuse.

Despite the need for more adoptive and permanent foster homes; some states have enacted discriminatory bans that prohibit children from being placed with qualified parents due to the parent's sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. The result is less children being adopted and more children bouncing around the foster care system with no permanency and no security. In some cases these bans have resulted in a grandparent having to go through costly litigation in order to care for their own kin who are in foster care. This kind of discrimination does a disservice to many children who need a permanent, safe and supportive home. It robs far too many young people of a family, a core value that many Americans hold dear, and it's time to take a stand.

Click here to e-mail your representative to co-sponsor and pass the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (H.R. 4806). Loving homes are on the line for far too many children seeking a permanent, safe and supportive home to call their own.

D.C. Gay Couple Just Married Shares Their Story

Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend could be your neighbors, your coworkers, or your friends. They met in school, like so many other couples. But unlike many other couples, they were not allowed to legally marry in D.C. – until recently, that is. In fact, several years ago they gave up waiting and had a commitment ceremony in Maryland. However, they still dreamed of the day when they could legally wed.

That dream came true last week when the D.C. Superior Court began accepting marriage license applications from same-sex couples. Young and Townsend were among the first same-sex couples to be married in the District. As a result, they have gotten a lot of public attention. Though they are eager to be out of the public eye, they understand that this is a significant moment for the LGBT community. Says Young in a Washington Post article: “’I am doing this because I love my partner and we deserve to be married,’ Young says. ‘But I am also doing this because the first one is always the hardest.’"

Read the full article online here.

PFLAG Sponsors Briefing Urging Congress to Open Up More Safe Homes to Foster Youth

Tomorrow, PFLAG National and the Family Equality Council will be sponsoring a Congressional Briefing with Representative Pete Stark’s office entitled Every Child Deserves a Family. For those of you who live in DC, the hearing will be held in the Capitol Building in room H-137, and for those of you who live outside the beltway, the briefing will be streamed live over the internet starting at 1:30 pm. Information on the live streaming will be available on www.stark.house.gov. We would be delighted to have as many PFLAG members as possible view this important event to learn about efforts aimed at opening more homes to foster youth.

Tragically, there are approximately 125,000 foster children waiting to be adopted. With only 50,000 adoptions each year, there is a clear shortage of adoptive parents. The result is that children, especially minority and special needs children, languish in foster care and bounce from placement to placement. The 25,000 youth who never find a permanent family and “age out” of the system each year are more likely than nearly any other group to experience poverty, homelessness, incarceration, early pregnancy or suffer with mental illness or substance abuse.

Despite the need for more adoptive and permanent foster homes, some states have enacted discriminatory bans that prohibit children from being placed with qualified parents due to the parent’s sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status. The result is less children being adopted and more children bouncing around the foster care system with no permanency and no security. In some cases these bans have resulted in a grandparent having to go through costly litigation in order to care for their own kin who are in foster care.

The following panel of experts will provide an overview of why this critical issue requires the attention of Congress:

What: Congressional Briefing: Every Child Deserves a Family
Date: Thursday, March 11
Time: 1:30-3:00
Location: H-137

Panelists will include:

• Nakea Page and Kendra Langley - Foster Care Alumni will discuss their experiences in the child welfare system and “aging out” of the system without a family;
• Uma Ahluwalia - Director of Montgomery County Maryland’s Department of Health and Human Services will discuss the benefits of opening as many adoptive homes as possible to foster children;
• Charlotte Patterson - Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia will discuss 30 years of research on LGBT parenting and adoption;
• Gary Gates - Senior Research Fellow at the Williams Institute will discuss research on the fiscal impact of banning and restricting LGBT adoption and foster parenting;
• Leslie Cooper - Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU will discuss ongoing litigation at the state level to overturn discriminatory adoption bans;
• Martin Gill - Foster parent engaged in litigation to be able to adopt two brothers he and his partner have been fostering since 2004.

Should you have any questions about the event, or if you want to learn about ways your chapter can help advocate for passage of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, please don’t hesitate to contact PFLAG National.