Census Count of Same-Sex Couples to Stir Policy Fights

WashingtonPost.com – By Carol Morello – Washington Post Staff Writer

When the U.S. Census Bureau counts same-sex married couples next year, demographers expect hundreds of thousands to report they are spouses — even though legal same-sex weddings in the United States number in the tens of thousands.

Gay advocates say they plan to use “A Census that Reflects America’s Population,” as the Census Bureau calls its plan to report same-sex marriage statistics, to push for legislative and policy initiatives, while groups opposed to same-sex marriage weigh a counteroffensive.