Census (is) asked to recognize gay marriages

[Newsjock]

Source: Washington Blade

Gay activists are pushing the U.S. Census Bureau to reconsider its decision to ignore same-sex marriages.

David Stacy, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior public policy advocate, and others said the recently revealed federal decision to ignore the marriages performed in California and Massachusetts is wrong.

“These couples are married,” Stacy said. “Census data should reflect the reality that these marriages have happened. They’re real. They’re legal.”

... The approach also has drawn criticism from demographers who rely on census data.

Gary Gates, a Williams Institute researcher who specializes in gay demographics, said the Defense of Marriage Act gives officials no specific reason to overlook gay marriages during the 2010 census.

“Counting same-sex married couples is hardly providing any federal recognition of them, other than recognizing that’s how they filled out a form,” he said. “They’re not going to get their Social Security benefits.”

Read more: http://washblade.com/2008/8-1/news/national/13037.cfm

[UndertheOcean]

1. Good !