LGBT Leaders Launch "Our Families Count" Website

From the official press release:

Many leaders and advocates among America's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community unite today in the launch of Our Families Count (www.ourfamiliescount.org) -- a new voluntary public education initiative promoting LGBT visibility and participation in next year's U.S. Census.

The new 2010 Census education project is a truly collaborative and unique strategy to unite disparate populations across the entire LGBT spectrum. The outreach effort is designed to educate all about the importance of responding to the once-a-decade Census.

Expert demographer and Williams Institute Research Fellow Dr. Gary Gates described why the 2010 Census matters to the LGBT community especially, "Reliable information on LGBT people is hard to come by and the need for accurate knowledge is real. Census statistics guide many key government decisions. For LGBT citizens especially, statewide organizations and local community centers need information for planning services, while advocacy groups need to know more about the LGBT population as they lobby for resources."

Gates also noted that, "Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct. For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color). Although the 2010 Census does not include questions on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Census count of same-sex partners and their families provides vital information for and about the LGBT community."

It also is important to emphasize that Census information is never shared with other U.S. government agencies for the purpose of law enforcement or compliance with immigration laws. The Census is used only and confidentially to find out more about all American households and the U.S. population, and is never used to violate any person's privacy. The Our Families Count campaign also takes no position on specific policy issues or questions.

Click here to check out the new website.