The Trump Administration has decided LGBTQ people will not be counted in Census data. The U.S. Census Bureau released a report on Tuesday saying they would ask questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity in the 2020 Census and American Community Survey. This information has never been included in any previous Census or survey.
However, shortly after this report went out, the Census sent out a notice saying the report had been corrected because it “inadvertently” included LGBT categories. The notice read:
“The Subjects Planned for the 2020 Census and American Community Survey report released today inadvertently listed sexual orientation and gender identity as a proposed topic in the appendix. The report has been corrected.”
Whoa! Wait a minute! We are not going to include tax-paying, law-abiding citizens in U.S. Census data? HOW egregious! Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said:
“By erasing LGBTQ Americans from the 2020 U.S. Census, the Trump Administration is adding a disgusting entry to a long list of tactics they’ve adopted to legally deny services and legitimacy to hard-working LGBTQ Americans.”
This poses serious concerns for the LGBTQ community for a variety of reasons. Meghan Maury, criminal and economic justice project director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, said:
“If the government doesn’t know how many LGBTQ people live in a community, how can it do its job to ensure we’re getting fair and adequate access to the rights, protections and services we need?”
Chelsea Clinton tweeted:
This is outrageous. No one should be invisible in America https://t.co/IOaCit7dg2
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) March 29, 2017
Nelson and Mitchell of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce suggest Trump should have more of an economic interest in the LGBT community, saying:
“He may not give a fig about our rights, but he does understand money.”
The NGLCC also commissioned the groundbreaking “America’s LGBT Economy” report, which found that LGBT-owned businesses in the U.S. add at least $1.7 trillion to the American economy, and have created tens of thousands of good-paying jobs from coast to coast.
Jennifer C. Pizer, law and policy director at Lambda Legal, said:
“Social science researchers, health professionals, educators, and so many others striving to meet the needs of our communities for years have been decrying the lack of population-based data about who and where we are, the elevated rates of poverty we endure, and other serious challenges.”
Pizer added:
“This is an assault on science as well as on a uniquely vulnerable group of Americans. It only strengthens our determination to be visible and counted in our communities, in town halls, in the streets, and in courtrooms nationwide. We number in the millions and we aren’t going back.”
It is now one of many injustices the Trump Administration has enacted on this country, but people will continue to fight until LGBTQ people have full inclusion and equality in our society.
Featured Image Via YouTube Video.
