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Throughout our nation’s history, the census has served to document and reflect our increasingly diverse and changing population. For the LGBT community, the first big change in the census occurred in 1980 when a “partner” category was added to the census questionnaire as a way to describe the relationship between two people in the household. However, until Census 2000, if two members of the same sex chose instead to describe themselves as spouses – a legal impossibility at the time – the gender of the second person was changed to the opposite sex. With Census 2000 this changed: the second same-sex spouse’s relationship response was changed to the unmarried partner category.

This kind of data editing is a necessary and accepted statistical tool that helps improve data accuracy when responses defy possibility (for example, if someone indicates they were born in 1862). But with the advent of legally recognized same-sex marriages after 2000, the existing census editing protocols were thrown into question. Still, the previous administration interpreted the Defense of Marriage Act as prohibiting the Census Bureau from reporting the actual responses of same-sex couples who claimed to be married. As a result, no plans were put in place to modify how those responses were tabulated for the 2010 Census.

President Obama and his Administration are committed to achieving a census that provides a fair and accurate count of all people in the United States, including LGBT couples.

The 2010 questions, software programming and data capture protocol are complex systems that took years to develop and test. Changing those systems in time for the first 2010 data release is not possible.

However, in a change of policy from the previous Administration, the Census Bureau will, for the first time in a decennial census, produce data on same-sex couples who indicate they are in a marital relationship. These data will be released as part of the detailed data releases that follow the initial population counts used for congressional apportionment and by the states for redistricting.

Over the past several years Census Bureau analysts have been exploring the best ways to accurately capture the number of same-sex marriages. The results of this research can be found in the “Families” area of the Census Bureau Web site (www.census.gov).

“While counting couples [instead of individuals] sounds like a limitation,” says Gary Gates, an LGBT demographer at the Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, “it’s important to remember that so many of the civil issues within the LGBT communities deal with couples – whether it’s relationship recognition, joint-adoption issues, domestic partner benefits or immigration rights.”

For the 2010 Census, the Bureau has also launched an unprecedented outreach effort in LGBT communities across the country through the existing Census community partnership programs. “The response I've gotten from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Matt Weinstein, an LGBT Partnership Specialist who has been working in the Census’ Los Angeles Region since June. “In so many cases, this is the first time LGBT organizations have been proactively approached and engaged by a federal agency. From Fresno to Maui, I've been enthusiastically received by LGBT leaders who are eager to get a complete count of their communities.”

Weinstein is working closely with LGBT communities of color and is partnering with groups like the Latino Equality Alliance (LEA) and the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) to ensure that these communities are fully reached. He’s also been in contact with organizations that serve LGBT service members and veterans. “There are a lot of people in the military who live with same-sex partners off-base, and they're concerned that truthfully filling out their census could be a violation of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell.’ Fortunately, because of Title 13, LGBT service members’ information is protected, and they can't be discharged for identifying their household relationships on the census.”

An effective way to educate these groups on the importance of the 2010 Census is through Complete Count Committees (CCCs). CCCs consist of community and government leaders dedicated to building awareness of the 2010 Census. Currently, nearly 10,000 CCCs have been formed throughout the country. However, until recently none were focused specifically on reaching the LGBT community. This changed in October 2009 when the Los Angeles LGBT Complete Count Committee was formed. The goal of the committee is to help educate the LGBT community about the importance of filling out the 10-question census form when they receive it in March.

Census data is extremely important, directly affecting how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state, local and tribal governments. The data also determine the allocation of 435 seats in the House of Representatives and inform a wide array of local and national decisions, making it vitally important for all populations to be represented.

For more information, visit 2010census.gov.

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