Dan Spencer has been blogging at, and as, California Yankee since 2003. He lives in Connecticut and practices law in New York. Here he will discuss the politics of the Right.

More Articles
Topics

Palin back on campaign trail

Obama to nominate Hillary as secretary of state Monday despite Constitutional prohibition

Jindal visits Iowa, the 2012 campaign has begun

Palin leads among republican voters for 2012

Mumbai massacre complicates Obama's plans for Pakistan in the fight against al Qaeda

2008 Presidential Campaign

2008 Presidential Election

International Relations

Nuclear Proliferation

2008 Presidential Capaign

2012 Presidential Campaign

Examiner Feeds

These websites were picked by the Right Side Politics Examiner as useful resources.

View: All Sources

Liberals: Dion would be PM (Toronto Star)

memeorandum - 1 hr 23 mins ago

Bush says some voters backed Obama 'because of me' (CNN)

memeorandum - 1 hr 53 mins ago

Parents of 'nameless' children face fines

News

Polls

Right Side Politics Examiner Links

National Examiners

Gaby Cora
Workplace Health Examiner
Most Recent Post
Life-work balance in the holiday season

Sakre Heinze
Tori Amos Examiner
Most Recent Post
DVD News?

Jacob Osterhout
College Sports Examiner
Most Recent Post
Kentucky's point guard of the future decides he's ready to play, and Gillispie agrees

Jay McDonough
Progressive Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
A picture for the day

Big Red Boots
Caffeine Examiner
Most Recent Post
The Best Working - Worst tasting - ugliest energy shot yet - Stay Alert Energy

Send us your topic suggestions

Showing entries for Category: 2010

Census Bureau won't count same-sex marriages

Add a Comment

July 12, 9:01 AM

by Dan Spencer, Right Side Politics Examiner

Image credit: Associted Press

The U.S. Census Bureau, because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other mandates, plans to edit the 2010 census responses of same-sex couples who marry legally in California, Massachusetts or any other state:

They will be reported as "unmarried partners," rather than married spouses, in census tabulations - a policy that will likely draw the ire of gay rights groups.

The Census Bureau followed the same procedure for the 2000 census, and it does not plan to change in 2010 even though courts in Massachusetts and now California have ruled gay men and lesbians can marry lawfully.

When asked to describe their relationships to others in their household, if a respondent refers to a person of the same gender as their "husband/wife" on the 2010 census form, the Census Bureau will automatically assign them to the "unmarried partner" category. Legally married same-sex couples will be indistinguishable in census data from those who chose "unmarried partner" to describe their relationship.

Critics, such as Gary Gates of the Williams Institute, say the refusal to count legal same sex marriages will degrade the quality of the government's demographic data:

Gates, a prominent demographer who was consulted by Census Bureau officials about counting legally married same-sex couples, said one result is that the census will undercount marriages in states with gay marriage. And because the bureau defines a "family" as two or more people related by birth, adoption or marriage, it also will remove many same-sex married couples from being counted as families.

The Census Bureau has no choice. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. DOMA does not ban same-sex marriage. DOMA defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The act also specifically denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. The act states that any federal law that applies to married couples does not apply to same-sex couples.

For more info: U.S.Census Bureau won't count same-sex marriages;

Topics: Gay Marriage , Census , 2010

Feed

Dan Spencer