My Monday afternoon was interrupted by a breaking news update from my New York Times app and a text message from my mom asking me if I heard about Boston. Both prompted me to take to Twitter, and I was instantly bombarded by numerous breaking news updates and graphic images of victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
It’s truly too early to know exactly what is happening or why, but the reports indicating more than 100 injured and two confirmed dead have made my heart heavy with yet another seemingly senseless act of violence.
Our country has faced so many of these acts in the recent past that we are almost numb to them. Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., Newtown, Conn., my hometown of Omaha, Neb., and now Boston. I believe that it’s time like this when our truest colors are shown.
For every update I have read about the bombing and the victims, I have almost always read another highlighting the strength and courage of bystanders. Reports of people running into the debris to help fallen victims and Boston Marathon runners sprinting past the finish line to the nearest hospital to donate blood have filled my news feeds.
As an American, I am proud of our ability as citizens to look past ourselves to help in times that are bigger than ourselves. But what about the numerous Americans who want to help, but aren’t allowed to?
I truly hate to diverge the spotlight from the Boston victims. However, the truth of the matter is they need our help — all of our help — but our current laws ban sexually active gay men from donating their blood. This is blood that could be crucial in helping save the lives of Boston victims.
According to CNN, blood donations [were falling](http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/health/gay-men-blood-ban) last summer with almost a 10 percent decline nationwide. I can’t help but wonder, as the article does too, if lifting the ban on blood donations from gay men would help stall that decline.
The ban on gay men donating blood stems from lack of knowledge about the AIDS epidemic, which can be traced back as early as 1977. The AIDS epidemic was closely correlated with the gay community, and therefore bans were put in place by the Food and Drug Administration to restrict any and all men who have had sex with other men from donating blood. Times have changed and surely almost four decades later we know that correlation is not causation. Yet this ban still exists and it’s hindering thousands of gay men from selflessly donating their blood to help those who need it.
In the wake of the Boston tragedy, we should be reminded of this discrepancy. Gay American men should not face discrimination in their attempt to aid their fellow Americans. Whether it be in moments like today, where I’m sure the number of blood donations is through the roof, or times like last summer, when donations were on an across-the-board decline, no one should be restricted from voluntarily participating in efforts to help those in need.
My thoughts are wholeheartedly with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, and I will never forget the instant individual efforts of citizens far and wide to come to their aid. I hope, in time, after we heal from this tragedy and grow together as a nation, we can reflect back to this moment and discuss this issue further. I truly believe we can only prosper from lifting the ban on who can and cannot donate blood.
