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Gays Stand Up to be Counted in Upcoming Censusby Kilian MelloyThursday Nov 12, 2009 GLBT equality advocates are looking to see that gay and lesbian families are represented on the 2010 U.S. Census. The once-per-decade headcount keeps tabs on a variety of demographic groups for a number of reasons, including in order to determine the allotment of federal funds for appropriate programs.
GLBT equality lobbying group the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) took part in the launching of an initiative called Our Families Count, described in a Nov. 10 press release from the HRC as "a new voluntary public education initiative promoting LGBT visibility and participation in next year’s U.S. Census."
"It is vital that every LGBT person participate in the Census," Joe Solmonese, president of the HRC, said. "Census data allows LGBT families to be visible in a way like no other, and that is why HRC is a proud member of the Our Families Count partnership."
The program is designed to be inclusive. As part of that, the Web site offers both Spanish and English-language content. The initiative draws support from a cross-section of "community, business and academic leadership groups... that have endorsed the project and its education mission," the release said. Among them are The Bilerico Project, California Faith for Equality, the Family Equality Council,
Freedom to Marry, GLAAD, Lambda Legal, the National Black Justice Coalition, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, PFLAG National, Safe Schools Coalition, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), Transgender American Veterans Association, The Williams Institute, and the UCLA School of Law, among many others.
"Reliable information on LGBT people is hard to come by and the need for accurate knowledge is real," said Williams Institute Research Fellow Dr. Gary Gates, an openly gay demographics expert and co-author of The Gay and Lesbian Atlas. "Census statistics guide many key government decisions. For LGBT citizens especially, statewide organizations and local community centers need information for planning services, while advocacy groups need to know more about the LGBT population as they lobby for resources.
"Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct," Dr. Gates added. "For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color). Although the 2010 Census does not include questions on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Census count of same-sex partners and their families provides vital information for and about the LGBT community."
The press release made a point of observing that, "Census information is never shared with other U.S. government agencies for the purpose of law enforcement or compliance with immigration laws. The Census is used only and confidentially to find out more about all American households and the U.S. population, and is never used to violate any person’s privacy. The Our Families Count campaign also takes no position on specific policy issues or questions."
A Nov. 10 press release from media watchdog group Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) also announced the formation of the new initiative.
"The U.S. Census is a critically important opportunity to make sure that all members of our community and all of our families count," said Jarrett Barrios, president of GLAAD. "Participation is crucial to let our government leaders know that we are a vital and strong component of America today as we advocate for equal protections under the law. We hope that media seize this opportunity to encourage participation in the Census by all Americans and to spotlight the diversity and visibility of our community."
In the longer term, equality activists are looking to make The 2020 Census more attentive to the needs--and to the existence--of GLBT individuals and their families. Initially, the 2010 census was not going to include data on married gay couples in the states where marriage equality is legal; in a compromise with the Obama administration, however, the Census Bureau will provide raw data from which the number of married gay and lesbian families can be extrapolated.
"The Census has acknowledged this is a problem," said Dr. Gates, "and is trying to figure out in the future how to count all the different forms of gay legal couples."
"One thing that is really significant to our community is visibility," said Rebecca Rolfe, who heads the LGBT Community Center in San Francisco. "The Census works on a very long time frame. We need to organize now for the 2020 Census."
Part of the reason for that is it takes Congressional action to revise the census. "If we want to change things in 2020 we need to start working now when we have a supposedly friendly president and supposedly friendly Congress," explained Equality California’s Geoff Kors.
"It’s crazy--the U.S. Census Bureau wants an accurate count of everyone in the country--but there’s no question in the survey that asks if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender," reads text at a separate site, queerthecensus.org, which is run by the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force. "You read that right: LGBT people are basically invisible in the survey that is supposed to reflect the diversity of America’s population--and that’s a big problem." The Task Force is now gathering online signatures for a petition to revise the 2010 Census in order to make it more equitable toward GLBT Americans.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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