Did the census bureau have an official position on this or did they just skate around the issue? Granted, they went further than ever before by collecting data on same sex partners, but seeing as how the census comes but once a decade, I think we should not be taking baby steps when it comes to gathering data on controversial subjects such as sexual orientation. What better way to end controversy than to collect data, that is- to become informed?
Leaving this out of the census is next to willfull ignorance. More and more legislation affects marriage and/or partnership issues. Seems to me, this is information we need to know.
Yeah, the frothing-mouthed bigots who want to outlaw love and commitment between people who just happen to be of the same gender really want the debate clouded by a few facts, uh-huh :rolleyes:
There are folks who say “No question, gay marriage is a good thing and ought to be allowed” and no statistics of how many same-sex couples or goings-on is going to change their minds. Then there are folks who feel homosexuality is on par with child molesting and/or murder and don’t care about statistics and won’t change their minds if they find out percentage X of people are “that way”.
So neither of these two groups have any interest in real facts and statistics.
Which leaves the merely curious, who apparently either weren’t asked or didn’t have enough political pull to put the question on the form.
I believe the current tactic for gay rights is to take baby steps in getting the straight community to become more accepting of our lifestyle. Drastic leaps seem only to fuel the flame for organizations like the Christian Right (which frankly is neither Christian nor Right).
For example, take the issue of gays in the military. “Don’t ask don’t tell” is not exactly where we would like to be but it is a step in the right direction. Even conservatives like George Bush seem unlikely to change the current policy, which means we have made a step forward (although a baby step). A more radical policy would have prompted President Bush to completely abolish the idea and we would be no better off on the issue.
True the US Census didn’t go as far as it could, but it definitely helped identify a portion of the gay community: namely same sex couples. I know in my home of Columbus, Ohio the statistics showed a large number of same sex couples and it made the front pages and all the news programs. The straight community definitely knows that we’re here.
I’m not sure whether this should be in GQ or GD, but I’m going to give a factual answer. A lot of people do NOT like answering census questions, and will only answer with the number of people living in a household. The census takers will simply take that answer. There’s a legal minimum of information which people must provide, but it’s very minimal. And now, for the life of me, I can’t remember exactly what is required, and I don’t feel up to doing a google. Anyway, I suspect that the answer is “because the Census Bureau thought that many people wouldn’t answer this question.”
Lynn is right (no doubt about it, obviously), but the other important reason is that there is no reason to ask that question.
From a Census Bureau press release last year:
If I recall correctly, every question on the Census form is required by law or to fulfill a federal program (mostly distribution of funds). There is nothing on there that is asked solely out of interest, and at this point in time, I think that’s the only reason for asking “Are you homosexual?” As far as I know, there’s no federal program with funding tied to sexual orientation in a given jurisdiction (AIDS programs obviously get better data from elsewhere) and no infrastructure needs of communities with a higher proportion of homosexuals (or heterosexuals). What would be done with the answer to that question? And could those objectives not be met with other information out there?
In addition, there are a vast number of facts which would be very helpful to know for any variety of reasons, policy and otherwise, and more useful than knowing the distribution of the gay population (YMMV, of course). Are you drawing a military pension but working full-time? What share of your investments are in mutual funds, stocks, bonds and bank accounts? How are your retirement savings allocated? Do you have an Education IRA? Are your parents in a nursing home? Without long-term care insurance? Do you have a cellular phone? Do you have Internet access? What connection speed?
All of these are questions for which I’ve needed answers over the past few months. It would be great to have authoritative answers from the Census, but obviously due to space and cost, not every question can be asked.
In short, there’s no programmatic reason for the Census to ask this question. It would be good to know [sub](or does it even matter?)[/sub], but no one is precluded from conducting a survey on this question.
Next to willful ignorance? Hardly. Providing information required by law in the most efficient manner possible without seeming to invade citizens’ privacy? That sounds more like it.
Of course, the intrusiveness of government. How dare it gather data in order to serve its citizens. I’ve never been very bothered by census data gathering but of course many people are as Lynn makes clear. I just thought that as long as we’re going to gather data on same-sex relationships, why not take just one more step and try to shed some light on a controversial issue. Broomstick is right- too many people would rather not know. That is what I meant by willful ignorance.
So here is another general question (because apparently one isn’t enough any more). What would be the best way to collect such information? “Best” meaning most accurate and unbiased.
I think there would be a problem asking “are you homosexual” on the Census, because many people interpret “homosexual” to mean “do you like the same sex, and only the same sex”. My guess is that there are millions who generally like the opposite sex, but have an occasional attraction toward the same sex. These people probably won’t box themselves into “homosexual” (too much cognitive dissonance). I think “bisexual” would need to be an option also.
Of course there are more useful questions i would ask on a Census… like:
> Are you eating well?
> What part of American government do you think we should change?
> How do you like your job, on a scale of 1 to 10?
> Do you suffer from any health conditions? Please explain…
By the way, the Constitution does not require citizens to fill out the Census… it just says Congress has to have one. Lawmakers later, in their endless benevolence, made it a crime for choosing not to partake.
“A wise government shall restrain men from injuring one another but leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits.” – Thomas Jefferson