In the News

WASHINGTON – Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., was one of the ringleaders behind the House Democratic sit-in on Wednesday, designed to pressure Republicans for votes on gun control measures, fueled unexpectedly by social media when House cameras were turned off.

You are looking at live pictures from Orlando, we’re waiting for a memorial to begin within the next 90 minutes at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke; it will followed by a candlelight vigil to honor the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub tragedy. An estimated 20,000 people expected to attend that vigil. In the wake of the shooting tragedy, blood banks in Orlando and around the country quickly put out the call for donors, and many lined up to give, but gay and bisexual men who wanted to help were turned away, renewing calls to loosen restrictions that some say perpetuate a stigma.

A long held ban prevents men who have had sex with other men in the last twelve months from donating blood. Illinois Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley joins us on the line now. He’s with the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and he’s trying to get rid of that ban.

Ramon Gardenhire remembers being in law school at Wayne State University in Detroit and trying to give blood for the first time. He went with a group of friends and sat down with the screener. "She was going through all the list of questions when she asked, 'Have you had sex with any men since 1978?'" Gardenhire says. After joking about how that was the year he was born, Gardenhire told her yes, he had, publicly revealing his status as a gay man.

When news broke early Sunday morning of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 50 people and left over 50 critically injured, residents of the city began lining up in droves to offer their support at local blood banks. But the community hit hardest by the tragedy—gay men—was left feeling powerless because of a ban enacted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration more than 30 years ago that prevents gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood.

House Democrats are encouraging the Food and Drug Administration to reverse course on a rule that bars many gay men from donating blood and shift toward more rigorous testing for all potential donors.

Well yes, another mass shooting, this one more deadly than any before it. Oman Mateen’s actions yesterday morning are being ascribed to the influence of ISIS, homophobia, mental instability, and the availability of high powered weapons. So, what can government do? Also, the impact on and reaction from American Muslims and the LGBT community. These are our three points of discussion tonight. Congressman Mike Quigley is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and he is Vice Chair of the Congressional LGBT Quality Caucus, and we have him on the phone.

Congressional Democrats on Monday urged the removal of U.S. restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, calling the policy unwarranted in the aftermath of Sunday's shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Florida.