Census Nixed Married Gay Couples

While the Canadian census will count same-sex married couples, the Census Bureau in the US contends that the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act -- which defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman for all purposes related to federal regulations -- prohibits it from recognizing same-sex marriages, such as the ones now legal in Massachusetts and California. "For the 2010 survey, the bureau intends to maintain the policy established in 2000, whereby it will edit the responses of married same-sex couples. Same-sex spouses will be reported as "unmarried partners" in all census tabulations. Read the Census position.