I need opinions from LGBT people on this. Every semester, some GSA members try to pass a bill that would ban blood drives on our campus. Every semester, it fails.
Their reasoning is that the FDA policy tht says that all men "who have had sex with another man, even just once, since 1970" are not allowed to give blood is discriminatory; thus, we shouldn't allow blood drives on our campus.
The bill has been introduced yet again. Again, I am opposing it. I'm the Senato that represnts GSA in the AS Senate, so some of my constituents got made at me for it. My GOP party leaders are also opposed to it, and the Majority Leader (our party) is glad that I'm opposed to it.
Should I changed my position? Why or why not? I've went against the party leadership on LGBT issues a lot in the past, so it shouldn't shock anyone.
I think that you should continue to oppose the bill. There are many heterosexual people who have HIV/AIDS. To be equitable, the FDA should have to extend the prohibition to all individuals who are or have been sexually active. But sometimes, for the better good, you have to look past the discrimination, and analyze what the consequences would be if the blood drives were not allowed on campuses. If more and more campuses created bills like this, the unintended consequence might be less blood supplies. And obviously blood is vital in the survival of patients who need blood transfusions. Correct me if I misinterpreted what the contents of the bill were.
Oh, by the way, I would like to become a member of the group. I just want to add that, I do realize at times I let myself get a little to fired up about these issues b/c of my past experiences. I will try use restraint so that we can discuss and constructively debate, not argue.
Well, I guess I should give a bit of background like everyone else did. I am from the upper peninsula of Michigan, if you are not familiar with area, it is very conservative; everyone goes hunting, there are 13 churches within a mile of my house, and talking about homosexuality is kind of a taboo. There really are not very many "out" gay people who live here. With that being said, I have kinda suffered from self-hatred throughout high school; I literally believed that I could fake a heterosexual life. But after failed attempts dating women, I just new that it would not be fair to them or myself to feign a relationship. I think I reversed my self-hatred when I met my boyfriend. I realized that if I were born straight that I would not have met him. Thus, my metamorphosis into a die-hard gay rights advocate began. I went from one extreme to the other!
Well then. I have a question for everyone. As a kid I was extremely outgoing, but as I hit puberty, and I became more self-conscious about my sexuality, I began to develop social phobias. The root causes of like self-hatred and trying to act "straight", may not be a problem anymore, but I still have social phobias and feel extremely uncomfortable in front of men who kind of exude their "straightness" in particular. Like to the point where I know I am sending unfriendly vibes, but I cannot seem to control my body language. According to mental health specialists, gay teens are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, commit suicide, or suffer from other mental/emotional complications because of the the challenges they face.
Does anyone else have or know other GLBT people that have social phobias, or mental health problems in general ? If so, what do you think we should do to prevent GLBT people from suffering from mental/emotional complications? Should parents ask their children about their sexuality, and take preventative action by seeking counseling?
