Census won’t count gay marriages

Same-sex marriage is legal in two states, but not one will show up in the 2010 census.

The Census Bureau says the federal Defense of Marriage Act bars the agency from recognizing gay marriages, even though such unions are legal in Massachusetts and California.

The agency’s director, Steven Murdock, said in an interview that the 1996 federal law “has that effect, in terms of being a federal agency. We are restricted by it.”

The Census Bureau does not ask people about their sexual orientation, but it does ask about their relationships to the head of the household. Many gay couples are listed in census figures as unmarried same-sex partners, though it is an imperfect tally of all gay couples.

Murdock said the bureau will strive to count same-sex couples in the 2010 census, just as it has in the past. Those who say they are married will be reclassified as unmarried, same-sex partners.

The Census Bureau’s policy was first reported in the San Jose Mercury News.