Census’ interim “Survey” reflects lower count for same-sex couples
”We don’t think Census is doing us dirty here. They improved the way they designed the form, so they got fewer false reports from opposite-sex partners. But I still think it doesn’t mean we’re getting the full picture of LGBT people across the board.”
Jamie Grant of NGLTF responding to the lower tally of same-sex couples, from 754,000 to 565,000, between Census Surveys from 2007 and 2008. The full 2010 Census has been controversial for it’s initial refusal to include data fields that would count legally-married same-sex couples. That early decision appeared to be led by official’s interpretations of the ”Defense of Marriage Act” which prohibits the Federal government from recognizing any marriages other than one male and one female. But reports are that a request from the Obama Administration has caused the Census to rework that policy. The 2008 Survey also provided more evidence that marriage is slowly falling out of favor for the overall population — nearly 3 out of 10 women report having never been married. (USA Today)
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