Census Count of Same-Sex Couples to Stir Policy Fights (Washington Post 9/13/09)

[Duncan Grant]

The numbers should be eye-popping.

When the U.S. Census Bureau counts same-sex married couples next year, demographers expect hundreds of thousands to report they are spouses -- even though legal same-sex weddings in the United States number in the tens of thousands.

Gay advocates say they plan to use "A Census that Reflects America's Population," as the Census Bureau calls its plan to report same-sex marriage statistics, to push for legislative and policy initiatives, while groups opposed to same-sex marriage weigh a counteroffensive.

Particularly at the state and local levels, gay advocacy groups say census data on income for same-sex couples will show the need for more protections against job discrimination. Statistics on households with children will help them challenge laws limiting gay adoptions and legal guardianship. With raw numbers to illustrate the need, it will be easier to demand services, they say.

Here's the link.

edit: subject line

[NMMNG]

1. Bravo

It's not our fault bigots won't grant us the rights they take for granted. Some of us will declare ourselves spouses whether we have "papers" or not. If the system fails us then f*ck the system.