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NGLTF Policy Institute, Institute For Gay And Lesbian Strategic Studies Launch Census Campaign

The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS) and the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) today announced "Make Your Family Count," a national public education campaign aimed at encouraging same-sex couples within the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) communities to be counted in the U.S. Census. IGLSS and the NGLTF Policy Institute are the nation's two largest GLBT think-tanks.

"This campaign has one simple message: Our families exist and we must be counted," said Paula Ettelbrick, Family Policy Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. "The U.S. Census tracks changes in American family structures. Over the last ten years our community has had a major impact in changing family policies, from domestic partnership to second parent adoption. It's time that we include our families in the official count."

The "Make Your Family Count" campaign is seeking donated ad space and air time from media outlets with large GLBT audiences. The campaign urges same-sex couples living in the same household to mark the ‘Unmarried Partners' option when asked to describe their relationships. The forms will be mailed to every household in the United States in March and April. The campaign has also launched a website, http://www.WeCount.org, with information about the Census and guidance to GLBT couples on answering the Census forms.

"The Census will provide us with a gold mine of information. We will have a statistical picture of same-sex households by racial composition, where they live, and how many children they have," said Dr. Lee Badgett, Director of the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies. "The Census tracks changes in families in the U.S. Our families deserve to be counted so that the full diversity of the American family can be reflected and presented to policy makers."

"All public policy flows from the U.S. Census," Ettelbrick explained. "If we are not counted, we lose out on federal funding for research, funding for community services and passage and implementation of laws that benefit our community. We also sacrifice important opportunities for more equitable political representation of our community."

Ettelbrick added that information collected by the Census will lay the statistical foundation critical in demonstrating the need for domestic partnership benefits, funding for community services, and passage of policies that reflect the needs of GLBT families and their children. "While legislation in states like Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts has moved in our favor, we are seeing a definite backlash to our efforts through passage of laws blocking marriage and adoption in other states like Utah, California and Arkansas," said Ettelbrick. "The Census count will allow us to break through the rhetoric and show dispassionately that hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples already share committed relationships and are raising children. These families need the same resources and recognition as any other family."

In 1990, the category of "unmarried partner" first appeared on the census form. Approximately 150,000 households self-reported as same-sex unmarried partners - a severe undercount compounded by the U.S. Census Bureau's disqualification of same-sex couples who marked "spouse" to describe their relationship.

According to Badgett, the Bureau considered such a response to be a mistake because it is legally impossible for same-sex couples to marry. "This year, the Census Bureau has indicated that it will simply re-categorize the answers from "spouse" to "unmarried partner" so that the data is not lost," said Badgett.

According to the 1990 Census, 75 percent of American families no longer reflect traditional definitions of families, consisting of a married heterosexual couple with children under 18. Unmarried couples comprised approximately 4.5 million families, a 400 percent increase since 1970. This figure reflects the rapidly changing family unit.

To date the Census Bureau has not included a question about sexual orientation. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people not living with someone of the same sex whom they consider to be an unmarried partner will not be visibly counted. However, a large enough count of same-sex households, with or without children, could help substantially in future efforts to be included in the Census count.

For each same-sex couple that describes their relationship as being "unmarried partners" on the Census short form, researchers will be able to determine the racial, housing, age and demographic mix of same-sex households, as well as the number of children in the household. For the one-sixth of households that will receive the Census long form, researchers also will be able to determine education, citizenship and income, among other things.

ATTENTION EDITORS, REPORTERS AND PRODUCERS: To obtain a copy of the print advertisement produced by the campaign go to the website, www.WeCount.org, or to schedule interviews, please call the NGLTF communications department at 202-332-6483, ext. 3303 or call Ann Northrop of IGLSS at 212-727-8674.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movementís premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.