Counted (and Notated)

I completed my census form today and mailed it off. It was very easy and didn't take much time. I was glad to see the category of "unmarried domestic partner" as an option for the other person who might be living with you. Last census I was very honored to be able to indicate that my male partner and I of several years were indeed unmarried domestic partners. I often hear about statistics from the census that mention gay households and this is how they gather that information.

Our relationship ended after 10 years and this year I live alone. If you were to look at my form now you might not be able to tell that mine is still a gay household because it only just shows a single male living there. The same could be true of 2 (or more) gay roommates who do not consider themselves in a relationship. Their form would just show several males living as roommates. This little glitch in the system will widely skew the statistics that show how many gay people or households there are in the USA. And those numbers will be used to justify (or deny) causes related to gay issues. I think that is very significant.

I made a note on my form right next to where I had to choose Male or Female (not a difficult choice for me but I know some people who would have a hard time choosing just one). Right next to where I selected Male, I clearly wrote Homosexual. If a human being reads my form they will see it and hopefully note it. If a machine reads my form then I'm not gay anymore.