Putting "Us" In The Census - Be Counted!
3/17/2010 - LGBT participation in this year's census is essential. In the last census, North Carolina was reported as one of the fastest-growing states, yet it also had a sub-average response, meaning the growth was underreported. Census data is critical to many aspects of government and social services, and it directly affects what services are offered - and to whom.
The census occurs every ten years. Census information is used in the enforcement of an array of civil rights laws in employment, housing, voting, lending, education, and the availability of bilingual ballots and interpreters at poll sites. The census has a big impact on our political power and economic security.
Census data are used to determine the distribution of seats in the House
of Representatives and provides key population numbers for Congress and
the administration to determine how federal dollars flow to the states
and cities for health care and housing.
Many same-sex couples may wonder how to describe their relationship on the census form. The Census asks us to tell the truth as we understand it. So, if you consider your partner your "unmarried partner," check that box. If you consider your partner to be your spouse or if you have married your same-sex spouse in any state, you may choose the "husband or wife" option, and the Census will record and report on these figures in it's official Census tables on married couples in the U.S.
The census added “unmarried partner” as a designation on its form in 1990, providing the first visible record of LGBT partnerships in the history of our nation. These data have been essential in countering anti-gay lies, myths, and misperceptions about our diverse community.
If you are partnered, we encourage you to identify your relationship
For instance, from the most recent (2000) census, we've learned:
- Same-sex couples live in nearly every county in the nation.
- Black and Latino same-sex couples are raising children at nearly the same rates of their heterosexual peers, while earning lower incomes.
- Children in gay couple households have twice the poverty rate of children in heterosexual married couple households.
- More than one million lesbian and gay veterans have served in the U.S. Armed forces.
- More than 250,000 children in the United States are being raised by lesbian and gay parents.
According to Lee Badgett, research director at The Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law, "Census data have done more to make LGBT families and their needs visible
than any other source of data we have."
The data are certainly incomplete, however. For example, of the more than 3 million households reporting, just over 16,000 in the state self-identified as same-sex couples (7,800 male and 6,800 female). Of those, 18% listed themselves as non-white, and only 5,000 said they were raising children.
Obviously LGBT folks have privacy concerns. The coming out process is a very personal one, and people are at different points in it, from totally closeted to totally out. The census, however, ensures absolute confidentiality. In the past two decades of offering the “unmarried partner” box, there have been no repercussions against LGBT individual or families.
Also, no census data are shared with the Immigration and Naturalization Service or in any way used to target individuals and families for law enforcement purposes.
Bi-racial couples: The race of the household member who fills out the Census form determines the racial designation of a family in one of the Census’ major statistical tables. Given that people of color in North Carolina have been historically undercounted by the Census, couples or families may want to consider having a person of color identify as household member #1 when filling out the form for a family.
Trans folks: The census asks us to tell the truth as we understand it. Check the box on the census form that most closely reflects your current gender expression. The census only provides male and female options to check, so you must choose one of these boxes. If you are married and consider your spouse to be your “husband or wife,” check that option on your census form. If you are in a relationship with an “unmarried partner,” select that option.
The Census began this month and will continue for several months. If you did not receive a form, call the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance center at (866) 872-6868. Spanish-speaking operators are available at (866) 928-2010. Hearing-impaired respondents can dial TDD 1-866-783-2010. Lines will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. your local time everyday from Feb. 25, 2010 through July 30, 2010.
For further information, check out Our Families Count and Queer The Census. You can also request a free "Queer The Census" sticker to seal your census packet.
