So the mayor of Campbell, California can organize and host a blood drive, but he is not allowed to donate his own blood. Because he is gay: Bay Area mayor's blood donation rejected because he’s gay.Last week, Mayor Evan Low and Vice Mayor Rich Waterman, who are both openly gay, helped host an American Red Cross blood drive, both for charity's sake -- there is a reported shortage of donors in the summer months -- and also to make a statement against the federal ban that prohibits gay men from giving blood.
The Food and Drug Administration adopted a lifetime ban on homosexual donors in 1983 in response to the AIDS scare. Low says the policy is outdated and should be reconsidered:
