West Hollywood, California (February 22, 2010) - In March, West Hollywood and American households everywhere around the world will receive their 2010 Census forms in the mail: an important civic milestone that happens only once every ten years. 
Everyone should stand up and be counted, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual, says the US Census. Photo by WeHo News. |
What makes this year’s Census even more historic is the unprecedented and welcoming outreach by U.S. Census leaders and managers to include the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and allied community in these efforts, as a way to achieve the nation’s most accurate count possible.
Dr. Robert Groves, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, endorsed this initiative: “We are charged each ten years to provide Congress with a Census they trust to be accurate and complete.
“We are grateful to our LGBT community partners in helping us achieve this significant responsibility, and to help educate, motivate and inspire everyone to take part and above all, to be visible and counted.”
Leaders of organizations across the country applauded the move, with Faith Cheltenham, Vice President of BiNet USA said, “Too often bisexual, fluid, pansexual and queer-identified people are uncounted and overlooked.
“While the US Census does not currently ask about orientations,” she said. “BiNet USA believes that all our families should take part in hopes of providing a more realistic representation of America’s diversity."
Williams Institute demographer Gary Gates. Photo by WeHo News. |
Locally, renowned Williams Institute demographer Gary Gates weighed in with his support.
"Census data play a vital role in all policy research and they have been invaluable in informing virtually every public policy dialogue about LGBT people. They allow us to us to better understand the diversity and complexity of the LGBT community," said Dr. Gates, demographer and Williams Institute Distinguished Scholar at UCLA School of Law.
For this initiative, the U.S. Census recruited and deployed nearly two dozen Census Bureau Partnership Specialists across the country specifically to work with LGBT community groups and leaders.
All of these specialists are working with Che Ruddell-Tabisola who was tapped by the U.S. Census to serve as national LGBT partnership leader and as the primary bridge between the LGBT-inspired community campaign called Our Families Count.
For more background generally on the 2010 Census, please visit www.2010census.gov.
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