Whereas, under the current restrictions of the Food and Drug Administration, no male is able to donate blood if he has engaged in sexual activity with any other male since 1977. Furthermore, at the same time, any heterosexual man or woman, even one who has engaged in sex with an HIV-positive partner, is able to donate only one year after the encounter; this discrimination is targeted specifically at homosexual men. Furthermore, this is not simply a case of an antiquated law that has been overlooked and unenforced, seeing as the FDA in 2007 renewed this rule, despite the urgings of nearly half of Americans blood banks, which lobbied for a change that would set an equal standard for gay men as for any other donors. Whereas, it is easy to understand the reasoning behind the FDA's implementation of the rules in the early 1980s when society's understanding of HIV and AIDS was much more limited, including when authorities lacked the information necessary to have full control over a public health emergency. Whereas, the FDA estimates that ending this discriminatory practice would allow 112,000 new donors to give blood, and in a time when the Red Cross is underscoring its urgent need for donation, it seems not only bigoted, but also dangerous to the public welfare, to turn away so many thousands of donors. Be it resolved that the undersigned believe that the FDA should create a more detailed questionnaire about potential donors sexual history, and, in addition, alter its current policies that discriminate against homosexual men to the same policies regarding heterosexual men and women who have engaged in sex with an HIV-positive partner, which is a one year deferral period.