Tell the Census Bureau: Gay Families Count!

[Political Tiger]

The Census Bureau intends to "edit" the responses of legally married same-sex couples to report them falsely as "unmarried partners."
http://site.pfaw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=get_involved_landing

TAKE ACTION:
https://secure.pfaw.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=action_census

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. The government lying about gay couples... who'd have thunk it?

I have $25 that says Obama will remain silent on the issue, when a simple order as head of the federal bureaucracy could change this. Any takers?

[pinqy]

11. President Obama CANNOT change this

Because it's not Census rules, but Federal Legislation...the Defense of Marriage Act, which states:

§ 7. Definition of “marriage” and “spouse”
How Current is This? In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.

So it would be illegal of the Census to use any other definition.

[TechBear_Seattle]

12. Ah, got it. Yeah, that is going to be a problem

In the 2000 census, there were no legal, American made same-sex marriages. Now there are several thousand, and the US Census Bureau will be in abrogation of its mandate if it does NOT count those as "marriage." If it does, however, it will be breaking federal law.

[NorthCarolina]

2. Done n/t

[biopowertoday]

3. K and R. THANK YOU.

[GodlessBiker]

4. K & R. Done.

[Duncan Grant]

5. k&r - Done.

Thanks for posting! :kick:

[SacredCow]

6. K&R #5.....

x(

Of course they want to edit it- If gay spouses/partners are allowed to report themselves as such, the fundies won't be able to argue: "Why should we change the laws for 0.000000000000001% of the population?"

[Strathos]

7. asshole bigots

If Obama doesn't step up soon and make some changes to keep us from being trampled on further, I will never support him again. Period. We don't need another DOMA like Clinton betrayed us with.

[tbyg52]

8. K,R,&done. nt

[Ioo]

9. Done, and posted on the Facebook

[pinqy]

10. They don't have a choice.

This is NOT a case of Census deciding anything...legally, under the Defense of Marriage Act, Federal agencies cannot recognize same sex marriages, legal or not. Petitions to Census can't have an effect because it's not their decision.

We need to get DOMA repealed, not harrass the Census Bureau.

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. Harassing the Census bureau could have a positive effect, though

Suppose the Census created a class of "legal union," which included those who were married or in some other form of legally recognized relationship. That might very well get around DOMA.

Even better (I can dream, can't I?) would be for the census to class all couples in a legally recognized relationship as being in a legal union, and never use the word "married." That is exactly the kind of rule change that Obama could implement if he wanted to.

[pinqy]

14. There is a category called "unmarried partner"

And the Census did update its proceedures in 2000 to better account for these, especiall same-sex partners. The http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/samesex/index.html]Technical Note] explains the changes. It is pretty technical, though and might not make too much sense to people not well-versed in statistical surveys (for example responses of "married" being changed to "siblings" or "parent-child.") But the 2000 Census did try to capture homosexual couples, married or not, as well as they could without violating the (stupid) law. http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-5.pdf">Married-Couple and Unmarried-[br /Partner Households: 2000>

[TechBear_Seattle]

15. Which is legally incorrect, despite DOMA

Reclassing everything as a "legal union" would get around the matter nicely.

[barbtries]

16. is anyone acting

on repealing it? what a fucked up law.