LGBT Census Outreach

LGBT families need to be visible and counted in the 2010 Census.  Census data gives a snapshot of the LGBT community and informs many of the public and private policies that impact the lives of LGBT individuals and their families. 

This year, for the first time, the Census will release counts of both same-sex spouses and same-sex unmarried partners.  In the past, the Census Bureau combined these two groups, counting all same-sex couples as unmarried partners.  But for 2010, the Census will report the number of same-sex couples who identify themselves as spouses and the number who use the term “unmarried partner.”

While the Census doesn’t ask questions about sexual orientation or gender identity (so there won’t be data about single LGBT people), the data collected in the Census are vitally important in helping us to understand the diversity and complexity of the LGBT community.  We must all do everything we can to make sure that our families are visible and counted.

For more information about LGBT people and Census 2010, go to the Williams Institute’s Census information web page at http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Census2010_Sponsor.html.    You can also get information at www.ourfamiliescount.org.  Both websites include materials in English and Spanish.