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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Canada are the most advanced in the Americas. LGBT Canadians have most of the same legal rights as non-LGBT citizens, and are extended more legal rights than many other nations where homosexuality is legal. Since 2005, Canada has offered marriage rights nationwide to same-sex couples. Canada was the third nation in the world where same-sex marriages were legally performed (commencing in 2003 in the province of Ontario), the fourth nation in the world to perform same-sex marriages nationwide, the first nation in the Americas to perform such marriages nationwide, and performed the first ever legally recognized same-sex marriage in the world (performed January 14, 2001 and legally upheld June 10, 2003 in court). While same-sex sexual activity is not criminalized, the age of consent is 18 for anal sex under section 159, but is 16 for all non-anal sex, regardless of sexuality of the participants, since 1988. Courts in three Canadian provinces have held this difference to be discriminatory under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Social attitudes towards the community are generally positive in urban areas.Citation needed] Canada's LGBT-positive policies began to be implemented by Pierre Elliot Trudeau during his time as federal justice minister. Canada's largest city, Toronto, has one of the world's best-known gay districts, known locally as "the Village", short for "the gay village", the centre of which is at Church Street, just east of the Wellesley subway station, and runs north--south a few blocks in each direction. Montreal has the second-largest population of LGBT people but the largest gay district, a vibrant area called "Le Village" which begins at Berri subway station, continuing east for almost two kilometres, making it the largest in North America. Vancouver also has a gay district, located in the west end of downtown. The district, named Davie Village, is usually considered the area around Davie Street between Burrard and Denman[clarification needed]. In 2011 an area of the Centretown neighbourhood in Ottawa was also designated a gay village.[3] CNN) -- When Mark Shields started his job at the American Red Cross in Madison, Wisconsin, he rolled up his sleeve to give blood. It made sense. Part of his job was encouraging the public to donate and supporting the organization's lifesaving mission. Before he could give, he was told that his blood could never be accepted. Because he's gay. I was 23 at the time. I was just coming out,-he said. I was trying to be part of our organization's mission and feeling like I can't do this. I certainly felt put on the spot. It was a bad feeling for a lot of reasons.- Under Food and Drug Administration rules, men who have had sex even once with another man since 1977 are not permitted to give blood. The rule was implemented in 1983, sparked by concerns that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was tainting the blood supply. Screening tests to identify HIV-positive blood had not been developed. The policy was seen as a safety measure. Mark Shields promoted blood donations for two years at the American Red Cross. But today, with the availability of more accurate testing, activists, blood organizations and several U.S. senators say the lifetime ban is medically and scientifically unwarranted- and are calling for change. The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability will consider the issue in meetings June 10 and 11 in Rockville, Maryland. The committee makes recommendations to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA. Medical opinions vary; some experts say that lifting the ban could pose health risks to blood recipients. The Human Rights Campaign, the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and AABB, formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks, support easing the lifetime ban to allow gay blood donors. In a joint statement, the ...