WASHINGTON D.C.— The U.S. Commerce Department announced today that the U.S. Census Bureau would report married same-sex couples in the 2010 census. The decision to count same-sex couples, which has never been done before, reverses an earlier decision made under the Bush administration.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director of The Task Force called the Census Bureau action "a tremendous victory for our community".
In February, the Task Force Policy Institute convened 20 leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organizations to meet with top census outreach officials. In this meeting, the groups collectively refused to engage in community outreach on the census until the anti-marriage census policy was reversed.
"Finally, and fairly, married same-sex couples will be accurately reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is an important step forward, and one we hope signals the federal government's burgeoning commitment to including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in data and reporting on a broad spectrum of critical matters." said Carey
—Staff
