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Loading ...Bloomberg, Quinn call for gay marriages to be counted in Census
04.10.2009 10:07am EDT
(New York City) New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city Council Speaker Christine Quinn are blasting a Census Bureau decision not to count same-sex couples, saying it will make it harder for the city to balance its budget.
Quinn, a lesbian, is the second highest elected official in New York City.The next census will take place in 2010, but in July the bureau said it would report legally married same-sex couples as unmarried.
The bureau blamed the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from any recognition of gay and lesbian couples.
President Obama and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have called for repeal of the law, but so far that has not occurred.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who oversees the Census Bureau, Bloomberg and Christine Quinn said that counting same-sex marriages is crucial for state and local officials who use census data to plan for programs and social services.
“Although we understand that federal law may not recognize same-sex marriages for the purposes of administration of federal benefits programs, we do not believe it prevents the Census Bureau from reporting statistics from the forms of self-identifying same-sex couples married under state law, like all married couples,” the letter said.
Bloomberg and Quinn also said that not including same-sex marriages “could discourage” gays and lesbians from participating in the census.
In 2006, the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, ruled that same-sex couples do not have a constitutional right to marry. It said that the issue, however, could be taken up by the legislature.
Last May, while the legislature dithered over gay marriage, Gov. David Paterson (D) issued an executive order recognizing the marriages of all New York same-sex couples who were married in areas where they are legal.
Gay and lesbian couples can marry in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont, along with a number of countries including Canada.
How about calling for marriage equality while your at it Bloomberg!
This is our most important issue. Unfortunately, it is a process issue. So, it is not sexy like marriage equality, DADT, DOMA, and Civil Protections movement. It is the on official counting of gays there would be for the government. It creates the basis for all laws. As of right now, to the government, we are invisible. And it is time. Thank you mayor. Rise up people. The census would lead to everything else.
There’s no point in participating in the census if they are not going to count us. I am going to refuse to submit any info.
Gay people should boycott the census
We’re gonna get this one too. Thanks Mayor Bloomberg…keep up the noise guys…remember this is Stonewall 2.0 (40th ANNIV coming)…keep it loud.
YES – BOYCOTT! At least this is one place where we can stand tall and not worry about hurting anyone else! Maybe our wonderful organizations who ask for our money to “support” our cause can get behind this effort. Although I look good in blue I don’t think I’ll hold my breath on this one.
Matt, Rocco, R&R,
Please do NOT boycott the census. It will hurt people; a boycott will hurt your neighbors the most and the people with no same-sex couples will be rewarded. Boycotting the census means there is one less reason for your region to have a friendly member in the House of Representatives. Boycotting the census means there would be fewer reasons to have early child care, foster care, public health and HIV/AIDS funding in your neighborhood. Making yourself invisible does nothing to help, it actually makes you LESS relevant.
Less relevant than we already are? Now that would be a good trick.
Ahh I see, so A-hole homophobe Repugnican Bloomberg all of a sudden considers us human beings when the “we need tax money census” rolls around. LMFAO!!!!!!
DO NOT BOYCOTT the census. It will hurt more than it helps. I am going to use a RED pen to fill mine out and make it VERY clear I am part of a same-sex couple. Some one has to handle the census mail and will notice all the RED ink. Make a same-sex box to check. If they are all auto-sorted, the machine will see it as unreadable and start piling them up. A boycott can and will mess up the statistics and that will be bad for more than just the LGBT community.
definately boycotting!
and BTW if we do boycott and they know it…they’ll be falling all over themselves to get us rights…they don’t want to lose their funding….boycott the census and tell whitehouse.gov you’re doing it until them get our rights secured!
Boycott -HELL NO – Think we should say we are Gay and Check the F%$^&^%& MARRIED BOX ANYWAY !!!!!!!!!!!
SEEMS TO ME THAT IF WE ARE LEGALLY MARRIED THEN THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP US FROM SAYING SO ON THE CENSUS FORM. OF COURSE IF OTHERS ARE NOT PREPARED TO MARRY WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE THEN THERE CAN HARDLY BE A COMPLAINT WHEN THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE CENSUS.
Write, call, complain, check married, but do NOT boycott the census. Be counted, even if it is as an unmarried couple living together. Numbers matter.