There is intense interest in the numbers and characteristics of same-sex married couples, as a growing number of states have legalized same-sex marriage and the federal government-reacting to a Supreme Court ruling last year-has expanded the rights of those couples. According to a presentation earlier this month, the bureau found problems with the data “much worse” than the agency expected. Census Bureau is testing new marriage and relationship questions on its surveys in hopes of producing more accurate numbers in the next few years. Now the federal government’s task is to produce an accurate count of same-sex married couples.Īcknowledging a “very serious problem” of flawed same-sex marriage data, the U.S. Same-sex marriage is now legal in Washington, D.C., and 17 states (and Arkansas will join them, if a lower-court judge’s ruling last week is upheld).
The Census Bureau does not currently ask directly about same-sex marriages or partnerships.
