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Census Bureau Will Count Self-Identified Same-Sex Couples as ‘Married’
CNS News ^ | 3/12/10 | Edwin Mora

Posted on 03/14/2010 8:08:58 AM PDT by ZGuy

The U.S. Census Bureau has changed its interpretation of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to allow it to tabulate same-sex couples who self-identify their union as a marriage, even though DOMA prohibits any federal agency from recognizing same-sex unions as marriages.

Prior to the Obama administration, the Census Bureau said that DOMA prohibited the Bureau from tallying homosexual couples as being married. The Bureau plans to issue a report on its same-sex married data that is separate from its nationwide census report.

“What we agreed to do in 2010 is that since some people are answering that they are a same-sex couple who considered themselves to be husband and, and married and the same gender, we will produce a report that shows how many people checked off that box,” Burton Reist, assistant director for communications at the Census Bureau, told CNSNews.com.

The DOMA, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws, and says that states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons of the same sex.

Through the 2000 Census, if two individuals of the same gender checked off that they were married, the Bureau would edit their response and designate them unmarried partners for the “purposes of federal statistics,” which, according to Reist, will continue to be the norm because DOMA remains the law of the land.

Nevertheless, Reist said that for the 2010 count, the Census will produce a separate report comprised of the unedited data of homosexual couples who self-identify themselves as married, which is contrary to the Bureau’s original interpretation of DOMA.

According to the Associated Press, then-Census Bureau Director Steven Murdock on July 17, 2008, said the agency was unable to count same-sex couples as married because it was “restricted” by DOMA.

That same day, The Washington Post reported that Census Bureau Spokesman Stephen Buckner told them in an e-mail that the marriage law “requires all federal agencies to recognize only opposite-sex marriages for the purposes of administering federal programs.”

Reist said that a separate report on same-sex couples is a result of “the fact that throughout the history of the Census Bureau the way we tabulate data, the way we ask questions, has evolved to accurately reflect changing social norms.”

“We actually started producing this report already,” he said. “We’ve done it twice on the American Community Survey.”

The American Community Survey is the Census Bureau’s annual tabulation based on a sample of the population, not a nationwide count.

Before now, the Bureau has never put together a separate report on same-sex couples who consider themselves married based on data from its nationwide count.

In regards to tabulating the sexual category of transgender individuals who self-identify their sexual orientation, Reist indicated that the Census will rely on their response regardless of its validity.

“So gender, race, these are questions, ethnicity, these are questions that we rely on the respondent to tell us, to answer as honestly as possible,” Reist told CNSNews.com. “So we’re not going to look at somebody’s name, for instance, or anything else and say, you know, make a judgment as to whether this person is telling the truth.”

He added, “We have to assume that people are reporting about themselves as accurately as they can. Somebody will check the box however they feel best to check the box.”

Reist emphasized that the Census is based on the honor system of self-reporting.

The Census Bureau decided to allow the counting of same-sex couples after the Commerce Department under President Obama, who supports repealing DOMA, issued a legal opinion allowing the Census to tabulate same-gender couples as married.

In answering whether DOMA requires that the Census Bureau edit data of homosexual couples who identify themselves as husband or wife, Obama’s Commerce Department Secretary Cameron Kerry on July 30, 2009 issued the following legal opinion:

“No. DOMA defines the meaning of the words ‘marriage’ and ‘spouse’ when they appear in acts of Congress, rulings, regulations, or interpretations of federal administrative bureaus and agencies. These terms do not appear anywhere in the Census Act, or in any relevant rulings, regulations, or interpretations, promulgated pursuant to the Secretary’s authority under the Census Act. Rather, the Census Act instructs the Secretary to take a census of the population every ten years, ‘in such form and content’ as he may determine.”

This legal opinion reversed the Bush administration’s interpretation of the Defense of Marriage law, which required that data on same-sex couples who identify themselves as married be changed to unmarried.

Supporters of homosexual marriage argue that the Census Bureau’s decision to tabulate same-gender couples who consider themselves married will put a face on the number of homosexual couples.

Some conservative groups that support the traditional definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman acknowledge that the Census data on same-sex couples may be useful, but contend that having homosexual couples self-identify could produce inaccurate data, redefine the conventional definition of marriage, and violate the DOMA.

“It (data on same-sex couples) still may not completely answer the question of what percentage, in the states that have legalized same-sex marriage, what percentage have actually entered into that, into a legal civil marriage because the self-designation and the legal status may not always line up, that’s one concern I have,” Peter Sprigg, senior fellow of policy studies at the Family Research Council, told CNSNews.com.

Jenny Tyree, a marriage analyst at Focus on the Family, said that allowing homosexual couples to self-identify is “problematic” and an absolute violation of DOMA.

“Changing the language making a same-sex couple use the words ‘husband and wife,’ this is going to affect everyone and it’s a document of the federal government that’s changing these words in effect when, to the great majority of Americans and to the rest of the world, husband and wife have very specific gender definitions that are inherent to heterosexual marriage,” Tyree told CNSNews.com.

Furthermore, Jason Campbell, director of programs at the Christian Action Network, said, "For states that do not recognize same-sex marriage, we think it is wrong for our government to authorize people to lie.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2010census; agenda; bho44; bhocommerce; census; doma; homosexualagenda; marriage; obama
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1 posted on 03/14/2010 8:08:59 AM PDT by ZGuy
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To: ZGuy
Another “in your face” violation of the rule of law by the Obama administration.
2 posted on 03/14/2010 8:10:28 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: ZGuy

What ever!!


3 posted on 03/14/2010 8:11:21 AM PDT by PLD
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To: ZGuy

What about co-habiting opposite sex couples?


4 posted on 03/14/2010 8:11:44 AM PDT by AU72
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To: marktwain

Can’t wait till we show him what “In your ass” means....


5 posted on 03/14/2010 8:12:37 AM PDT by rightwingextremist1776
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To: ZGuy

nose count plus ... race-other-American

Forget the rest of the crap.


6 posted on 03/14/2010 8:15:40 AM PDT by Tarpon ( ...Rude crude socialist Obama depends on ignorance to force his will on people)
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To: PLD

One more reason to check the “Other” box and write in “American”.


7 posted on 03/14/2010 8:17:52 AM PDT by Corey Ohlis (Visualize Swirled Peas)
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To: Tarpon

Exactly


8 posted on 03/14/2010 8:18:25 AM PDT by mylife (Opinions...$1 Halfbaked...50c)
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To: ZGuy

What about inter-species marriages? Will they be counted?


9 posted on 03/14/2010 8:22:02 AM PDT by Fresh Wind ("...a whip of political correctness strangles their voice"-Vaclav Klaus on GW skeptics)
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To: ZGuy
A quick question to all of you.

Should the census data form be filled out completely accurately....or should one fill it out without true data?

10 posted on 03/14/2010 8:23:40 AM PDT by Logic n' Reason (We are all nine meals short of total anarchy.....think about it.)
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To: ZGuy

““What we agreed to do in 2010 is that since some people are answering that they are a same-sex couple who considered themselves to be husband and.....”

I consider myself to be rich, 5’10” tall, blonde, 30 years old.....can I put that down because I ‘feel’ like it?

This census is worthless!


11 posted on 03/14/2010 8:23:54 AM PDT by AuntB (WE are NOT a nation of immigrants! We're a nation of Americans! http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/)
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To: ZGuy

I wonder how the Census/ACORN crowd will count polygamists.


12 posted on 03/14/2010 8:25:14 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: PLD

Well we don’t like that law so the h*** with it. And so it goes with the lawless Marxists occupying the WH and Congress.

The next thing that will happen is that this illegal census recognition will used to cite precedent for deeming homosexual unions to be marriage.

It is a Constitutional state right to define whom it considers “married”, but our Marxist government will try to take it away. I expect it will end up in the Supreme Court.

I’m not sure why a marriage ceremony legally documenting a marriage is even necesary anymore. It appears that anyone who feels like it can merely say they’re married and, voila, they are. There does not even seem to be a prohibition against naming one’s pet dog, cat or fish as marriage partner.


13 posted on 03/14/2010 8:25:58 AM PDT by dools007
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To: Tarpon

I never check off race or gender questions because they are inherently racist ans sexist.


14 posted on 03/14/2010 8:27:56 AM PDT by dools007
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To: rightwingextremist1776

“Can’t wait till we show him what “In your ass” means....”

I’m certain he has known what that means for a while now!


15 posted on 03/14/2010 8:34:13 AM PDT by Batman11 (Sarah Palin: "Illegal immigrants are called illegal for a reason!")
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To: ZGuy

Faggots and Dykes: great....we need more “Federal Funding” to support THEIR agenda, too.


16 posted on 03/14/2010 8:42:47 AM PDT by traditional1 ("Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: Corey Ohlis

You are so right..I think that is what I will do..We all sould do that write in “American”..


17 posted on 03/14/2010 8:54:51 AM PDT by PLD
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To: Logic n' Reason

Don’t put down anything false - per Constitution = number of persons + sex + ages (not precise birthdates, names etc)

..however you can just write in “perfer not to answer” on every question and there is not anything they can do - ...other than call your house and demand answers and/or send someone to your house to demand answers (both of which they routinely do)


18 posted on 03/14/2010 8:57:09 AM PDT by VRWCTexan (Obama-scare is the "real" Cash for Clunker Program!)
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To: dools007
Great post..I am sure the next thing will be marriage to pets..most perverted creeps will try that..By perverted I mean Queer..

Although the Muslims don't have to have a marriage license to rape their pets..I think they like goats best..

19 posted on 03/14/2010 8:57:38 AM PDT by PLD
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To: ZGuy
"Deemed" to be married, "deemed" to have passed the Senate...

"Deemed" to be a valid government.

Calling a pile of dog poop a "rose" doesn't make it smell any better, nor alter it's core fecal nature.


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

20 posted on 03/14/2010 8:59:37 AM PDT by The Comedian (Evil can only succeed if good men don't point at it and laugh.)
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