In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau will be counting and recording the number of same-sex marriages in the United States.This visibility is another way that LGBT civil rights are being recognized and respected. A large part of why this major step forward was possible is due to the hard work of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, who has spent months campaigning for equal recognition.

The decision to count same-sex marriages in the national census repeals an earlier decision made under the Bush Administration. Before now, the Defense of Marriage Act had prevented the federal government from recognizing legal, state-mandated same-sex marriages. However, on Friday, June 19th, 2009, the White House stated that the Defense of Marriage Act doesn’t prohibit the federal government from gathering this information.The forms themselves do not require any changes, with boxes for genders of people living in the households and self-reported statuses of relationships such as “husband”, “wife” or “unmarried partner”.

The Bureau encourages people filling out the census to fill it out accurately. In the 2000 census, couples in civil unions or partnerships self-identified as husbands or wives. The Census Bureau faces the task of separating those who identify as married and those who are legally married.

“This is about folks’ identity,” said Steve Jost, a spokesperson for the U.S. Census Bureau. “We are experienced in dealing with changing social phenomena and how to measure and report that, and we want to get it right.”

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