[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11654]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL GAY BLOOD DRIVE

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
National Gay Blood Drive, because I know that being gay does not 
implicitly make someone an unsafe blood donor.
  Our current FDA policy paints all gay and bisexual men with the same 
brush, banning them for life based solely on orientation instead of 
focusing on actual risky behavior.
  This Friday, at National Gay Blood Drives in 61 cities across our 
country, gay and bisexual men will stand with straight allies to call 
for an end to this discriminatory policy.
  Implemented in 1983 during the height of the HIV crisis, the outdated 
policy is based on unjustifiable fear and bigotry instead of science 
and facts. But it is 2014. We have advanced blood screening and we know 
much more about how HIV is transmitted. We need a revised policy to 
match--a revision blood donation agencies support. We can no longer 
treat gay and bisexual men as second-class citizens or turn away 
healthy would-be donors who could be providing lifesaving blood.
  I urge all my colleagues to support the National Gay Blood Drive and 
help America move one step closer to true equality for all.

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