June 18, 2009
White House Wants to Count Gay Marrieds in Census
Take a picture of this post — it’s one of the few times we’ve found reason to praise the Obama administration (or maybe this is the very first time):
White House Looks to Include
Same-Sex Unions in Census CountThe White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community.
The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn’t released same-sex marriage data. …
The Census Bureau has long collected data on same-sex marriages when people chose to report it. White House officials said the previous administration interpreted the federal Defense of Marriage Act as prohibiting the release of the data. The Obama administration has abandoned that interpretation. …
An accurate statistical snapshot of legally married same-sex couples may be elusive. Before the White House’s plan emerged, Howard Hogan, associate director for demographic programs at the Census Bureau, said data from its 2007 American Community Survey showed more than 340,000 same-sex couples as being in marriages. But according to data from Massachusetts, the only state that permitted gay marriages in 2007, about 11,000 marriage licenses were issued for same-sex couples. …
The original plan for handling these marriages in the 2010 Census was controversial among some statisticians and gay activists. Following procedures employed in 2000, the bureau had planned to use a computer program that recategorized spouses in same-sex marriages as unmarried partners. For the 1990 count, the bureau simply altered the gender designation of one partner.
Some members of the 2010 Census Advisory Committee, composed of private statisticians and members of nonprofit groups, said they think that the bureau has handled same-sex marriages irresponsibly. …
William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, said it is important to release this data for policy and social analysis. …
Amazing. I suppose they can do it if tabulation doesn’t begin until 2011. (Actually, I know they can do it; in my other life, I was an old-school computer programmer, you know.)
Of course, I question Obama’s motives (I expect that if the numbers are high enough, that will prod him into action that isn’t purely symbolic), but the issue of just being counted is so important, I don’t really give a hoot why. For now.
Related:
(Institutionalized Homophobia + Taxation Without Representation) X DoMA = U.S. Census Bureau
July 12, 2008
Census Bureau’s Own Research Staff Demonstrated That Airbrushing Out Same-Sex Marriages Distorts Data
July 22, 2008
“Every Californian Counts”… Except Queers
June 16, 2009
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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Marriage, United States
