This past Sunday a horrible act of terrorism occurred at Pulse Night Club, a gay club located in Orlando, Florida.
An armed gunman entered the club and opened fire killing 49 people and leaving over 50 other injured.
Local hospitals were in desperate need of blood and encouraged people to come out and donate to help save the lives of the victims of the shooting.
But because of the restrictions set out by the FDA, gay men, the group of people that was targeted during this attack, were not allowed to donate.
These “deferrals,” as the FDA calls them, were first put in place in 1983, during the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States.
They were put into place back when there still wasn’t much information out there about HIV/AIDS and a false stigma existed that made people think only gay people could contract the disease, which we now know to be far from the truth.
It is true that back then HIV/AIDS were more common within the LGBT+ community, but that is because at the time the use of protection during sex wasn’t thought to be necessary and was rarely ever used.
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The FDA had initially banned any man who had sexual contact with another man and any women who has had sexual contact with a man who had sexual contact with another man.
In 2015 the rules were loosened up slightly and now only restricts men who have had sexual contact with another man within the last twelve months. This prevents any sexually active gay man to be a donor.
These rules are outdated and this week prevented some members of the LGBT+ community from being able to give blood to help support and potentially save lives of the victims of their own community who were attacked.
In recent years precautions been taken within the LGBT+ community to raise awareness about contracting HIV/AIDS as well as the importance of using protection and getting regularly tested.
There have also been many scientific advancements since the restriction was first put into place and now all donated blood is screened for many different types of blood-borne, diseases including HIV/AIDS.
The ban on gay men donating blood needs to be lifted.
It was written decades ago based fear and false stigmas.
We have progressed far enough to know now that any person can contract HIV/AIDS, not just gay men.
We need to stop excusing these negative stereotypes and make a change to these rules.
Every healthy and able person should be able to help their communities and donate in trying times such as these, and we need to no longer let ignorance stop them from doing so.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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Over 50,000 People Want To Remove Tomi Lahren From The Blaze
Tomi Lahren, the controversial millennial shock jock who is always all over your Facebook feed seems to have a whole bunch of folks who don’t like her.
Over 53 thousand people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Lahren to be removed from Glenn Beck’s Blaze television network because of her habit of being wrong and intellectually lazy.
“Everyone has a voice and an opinion,” the petition reads. “However, when the wrong voice is given a platform and is allowed to influence an audience of millions by perpetuating derogatory ideology toward select groups of individuals, this is where the injustice lies. Tomi Lahren (although her words are laden with passion and emotion) lacks the knowledge and experience to effectively communicate and facilitate.”
The petition campaign was created by a man named Cameron Tendaji and it has gained traction on social media.
“As a millennial in these “progressive” times, Tomi Lahren should be allowing safe spaces for all audiences,” The petition reads. “Instead, she attacks minority groups, fabricates historical “facts”, and is grossly misinformed on political topics.”
Lahren is pretty flawed as a media figure.
She has little experience and has been a darling of the right-wing since her schtick of attacking progressives started a couple of years ago.
She is a bomb thrower of the Rush Limbaugh variety and has almost no journalistic credibility.
Some of her commentary is borderline racist and almost always unfair.
However, should she really be silenced just because we disagree with her?
Is it really the job of media to create “safe spaces”?
Isn’t the role of media to stir the pot and chafe for change while identifying uncomfortable facts?
Just a thought.
Anyway, if the folks supporting this petition get their way then Lahren will soon be silenced.
“Tom [sic] Lahren’s hate speech against minority groups will no longer be tolerated,” the petition reads. “She will learn that although we have freedom of speech, there is no freedom from consequences. This may not solve the main issue; however, great things have small beginnings.”
But instead of removing Lahren, shouldn’t we just create a better alternative to her?
Stay tuned RISE NEWS readers, stay tuned.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Kanye West Cancels Rest Of Saint Pablo Tour
After going on an hour long tirade that many considered unhinged at a concert in Sacramento, Kanye West has decided to cancel the rest of his Saint Pablo tour.
The news was confirmed to Pitchfork by a West representative.
The following tour dates have been canceled. Tickets will be refunded in full at the point of purchase.
11-22 Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
11-23 Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
11-26 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
11-28 Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
12-01 San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
12-02 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
12-04 Fort Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
12-06 Orlando, FL – Amway Center
12-08 Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
12-09 Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena
12-11 Albany, NY – The Times Union Center
12-13 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
12-15 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
12-16 Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
12-18 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
12-20 Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
12-22 Auburn Hills, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
12-27 Washington, DC – Verizon Center
12-28 Boston, MA – TD Garden
12-30 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
12-31 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays CenterCover Photo Credit: Pieter-Jannick Dijkstra
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Conservative Columnist Posts Racially Charged Attack On Reddit: “Black Men Are Notorious For Lusting After A Well-Rounded Caucasian Butt Cheek”
In a controversial Reddit post, Breitbart columnist Milo Yiannopoulos responded to criticism of his publication’s crusade against the woman who Tweeted criticism of a Texas police officer that was murdered last week.
In the post, Yiannopoulos launched into a racially tinged tirade against African-Americans and Monica Foy, the woman who Tweeted a distasteful message about the murder of Texas Deputy Darren Goforth.
“I can’t believe so many people care about a dead cop and NO ONE has thought to ask what he did to deserve it. He had creepy perv eyes …,” Foy tweeted on September 1.
The Tweet quickly went viral after it was published on Breitbart.com, the right wing news website.
Two days ago, a Reddit user that goes by the name of tracker2208 posted a message on a pro GamerGate subReddit questioning Breitbart’s decision to report on the Tweet. (Foy only had 20 followers at the time and was not a public figure.):
“To me when I read that she is commenting about how society reacts to black shooting victims, not anything about the cop. But that doesn’t matter. What does is that she had 20 followers, she was a nobody,” tracker2208 posted. “Yet Breitbart journalist Brandon Darby decided she was relevant enough to do a hit piece on her. What follows is pretty much what you would expect when Gawker pulls this s**t. Why would he think so? Because they were investigating the BLM movement, and she retweeted #BlackLivesMatter 3 times. Are you eff’n kidding me.”
Yiannopoulos responded in the comments, referencing his GamerGate (GGers) audience.
“Alright, I’ll respond. I know that GGers are too gentle a species to engage in the sort of cruel and vindictive social media witch-hunt so often staged by progressives, so instead allow me as a distinguished member of the press to share a few thoughts.”
“Does she have a blackcent? Is this all a ruse to pick up dark-skinned men, now she’s grown too gigantic to get a white date? Perhaps I’ll write to her in prison.”- Milo Yiannopoulos
Here are some of the more pointed remarks by Yiannopoulos (you can read the whole post here):
“Enter stupid fat cracker Monica Foy, a large-and-in-charge supporter of Black Lives Matter who called one of the slain officers “creepy,” tweeting: “I can’t believe so many people care about a dead cop and NO ONE has thought what he did to deserve it. He had creepy perv eyes.” Foy is the latest and greatest example of moronic white lard-asses who might mean well but have bought into the lies and conspiracy theories peddled by BLM organizers…
“Monica Foy is a student, by the way, at Sam Houston State University, which is rightly proud of its strong criminal justice program. Talk about the wrong place to talk smack about a cop. If it’s right to kick frat boys off campus for saying they don’t want blacks in their club (and I’m sure it is), I can’t help but wonder: has Sam Houston already put an order in for the crane?…
“Racist? Me? I’ve had more black dick in me than the entire Kardashian family,” Yiannopoulos Told Rise News.
“All of which leaves the looming question of why a woman like Foy was so enamoured with Black Lives Matter in the first place – her penchant for violence excepted, of course. Now, forgive me for being crude, but I happen to know there’s quite the interracial chubby chaser scene in Texas, and black men are notorious for lusting after a well-rounded caucasian butt cheek. I speak from experience. Does she have a blackcent? Is this all a ruse to pick up dark-skinned men, now she’s grown too gigantic to get a white date? Perhaps I’ll write to her in prison. (For some tips, you understand.)”
Yiannopoulos responded to an email with multiple questions from Rise News. One of the questions we sent him asked if his remarks were racist.
“Racist? Me? I’ve had more black dick in me than the entire Kardashian family,” Yiannopoulos wrote. “Yes, that’s on the record.”
Cover Photo Credit: NEXTConf/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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