The U.S. Census Bureau needs to hear from you — add your name!
The Human Rights Campaign needs your help. The U.S. Census Bureau recently confirmed it is moving forward with tests that would allow it to safely gather quality data on sexual orientation and gender identity — and they need to hear from us that they should proceed with that work this year.
This rigorous testing is required for the inclusion of questions on the American Community Survey, and it will also develop invaluable evidence that will help set the stage for the ultimate inclusion of LGBTQ+ people on the decennial census.
Through HRC’s sustained advocacy, the Census Bureau is moving forward with this testing, but needs to hear from you about the importance of moving forward with that work this year. Please add your name to HRC’s petition to the Bureau. Our perseverance is paying off, and we need your help to get this important work over the finish line.
Thank you for your help to advance LGBTQ+ equality!
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Full Statement:
We, the undersigned lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQI+) people and their families and allies, write to express our strong support for the Census Bureau moving forward with its proposed test of questions measuring sexual orientation and gender identity on the American Community Survey (ACS) this year.
Violence, harassment, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people are on the rise across the United States, creating an environment of fear and uncertainty that only adds to the challenges many in our communities have long faced. To be able to craft evidence-based solutions to these problems, it is imperative that the government has access to quality information on the lives and current experiences of LGBTQ+ people. Surveys like the ACS are well-equipped to produce that type of high-quality data, but it unfortunately lacks a consistent way to allow LGBTQ+ people to self-identify as LGBTQ+.
We are therefore heartened by the Census Bureau’s recent announcement that it is moving forward with its plans to test how it could measure sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the ACS. Researchers have been studying sexual orientation and gender identity for decades, and we thank the Census Bureau for maintaining its plan to test questions that align with those researchers’ recommendations for asking about these concepts on general population surveys. We also commend the Census Bureau for its proposal to test and develop an evidence base on more inclusive questions that could one day allow even more LGBTQ+ people to self-identify within the ACS and other surveys as exactly who they are.
We appreciate that the testing needed to include new measures on the ACS is rigorous, and that this process takes time to complete and then implement. We also however remain mindful of the growing challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people across the country, and of the powerful role that ACS data play in ensuring that trillions of dollars in federal funding go to where they can best help people overcome such challenges. We therefore write to encourage the Census Bureau to take all necessary steps to proceed with its plans for conducting this testing during 2024: LGBTQ+ people are ready to be fully included within the ACS, but we cannot reach that goal without the completion of this long-awaited test.
The ACS is unique in its ability to combine years of data to allow studies on smaller populations, making it an invaluable tool in the government’s efforts to enforce civil rights laws and advance equity for marginalized groups like LGBTQ+ people. Additionally, the ACS is subject to the strongest data privacy safeguards in federal law — which would allow these data on our communities to be collected safely and with robust protections against potential disclosure or misuse. We therefore believe that the ACS is well suited for implementing sexual orientation and gender identity measures, and look forward to seeing the results of the Census Bureau’s testing on how it could best do just that.
We remain hopeful for the full implementation of questions measuring sexual orientation and gender identity on the American Community Survey, and thank the Census Bureau for its work in developing this comprehensive proposed test.