CA-10: Anthony Woods Talks To Americablog

As regular MadProfessah.com readers are well aware, the handsome, 28-year-old, openly gay, African American Anthony "Tony" Woods is running for the soon-to-be-open 10th California Congressional district seat currently held by Ellen Tauscher.

Woods is in Washington, D.C. and stopped by Americablog.com to introduce himself to that popular blog's readers. To support the West Point and Harvard Kennedy School grad, you can donate here at his ActBlue page.

Woods is running against California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi and State Senator Mark DeSaulnier.

MadProfessah.com endorses Anthony Woods in this race!

MIchael Jackson's Most Famous Performance

Celebrity Friday: Mehcad Brooks

Steaming hot Mehcad Brooks has done the impossible, growing even hotter in his appearances on HBO's True Blood. MadProfessah has been ogling Mr. Brooks since 2005, when he appeared on Desperate Housewives.

Brooks is one of the best things to look at on the intriguing HBO show which is already chockful of hot man flesh. His character's name on True Blood is Eggs Benedict Talley.He has clearly been spending time in the gym and now features what looks like an "eight pack."

What I like most about him is his smile. Really!

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

Delaware Legislature Passes LGB Rights Bill

It seems like state legislative sessions are extending forever this year. Well, better late than never: the Delaware legislature has completed passage of Senate Bill 121 (26-14 in the House and 14-5 in the Senate), a bill which would prohibit discriminmation on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, insurance and public accomodations.

The bill now goes to democratic Governor Jack Markell, who is expected to sign it into law.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God, who notes that the bill does not include protections based upon gender identity.

Note also, that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced in Congress this week, while it covers sexual orientation and gender identity, only applies to employment thoughout the United States, and would extend those protections to the 31 states which currently do not have gay rights laws.

Michael Jackson, Pop Icon, Is Dead at Age 50

Michael Jackson suffered cardiac arrest on Thursday and died suddenly in Los Angeles. The Pop Icon was 50 years old and is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Feinstein Responds To Health Care Criticism

A spokesperson for Senator Dianne Feinstein responded to questions about the Senator's support for enacting health care reform after several bloggers (including yours truly) noted her unhelpful appearance on television recently.

In her email, the Senator says:

I support:

1) Reducing costs and expanding coverage

2) Prohibiting the denial of insurance because of pre-existing conditions

3) Moving toward either a non-profit model of medical insurance or to one where premium costs can be controlled, either through competition in a public or cooperative model or through a regulated authority.

4) Assuring the financial survival of Medicare, because it is slated to run out of money in 2017.

5) Preventing the transfer of Medicaid costs to states, which could result in billions of dollars of additional loss to the State of California.

6) Establishing means testing for programs like Medicare Part D, which pays for prescription drugs

Clearly, the individual mandate - and how it is funded - is the critical, and as yet unanswered, question.

Jason Rosenbaum over at Calitics.com is not impressed:

Feinstein wants to control costs? The Commonwealth Fund estimates a health reform bill with a public health insurance option will save an extra $2 trillion over 11 years.

Feinstein wants to expand coverage? Jacob Hacker argues [pdf] that the public health insurance option in conjunction with reform is the way to best provide expanded and quality coverage, while preserving choice.

Feinstein wants to stop insurance industry abuses? Then she'll have to help pass a law that mandates these things, because the insurance industry will never voluntarily accept these concessions, as their testimony before Congress made abundantly clear.

And Feinstein wants to save Medicare and Medicaid? Well, the only way to do that is to aggressively control costs, as Budget Director Peter Orszag points out, is to reform health care in a real way.

In short, if Senator Feinstein wants to achieve any of the goals she says she wants to achieve, she's going to need to support robust health reform, including the choice of a public health insurance option.

[...]

So keep calling her office at (202) 224-3841 and sign the petition and ask her to just come out and say it, "I'm with the President and commit to using all my muscle to pass real health care reform this year, including a choice of a public health insurance option, to achieve the goals I've laid out for our health care system."

I'll say it once again: Senator Feinstein can either make history, or stand in the way.

Oscars Announce 10 Best Picture Nominees For 2009

This is huge news for the Gay Superbowl. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that they were expanding the list of Best Picture nominees from five to ten:

In all about 300 films were eligible for awards in 2008. Were that to hold going forward, roughly one of every 30 films would become a best-picture nominee.

While a best-picture nomination now becomes a bit easier for makers of documentaries, animated films and foreign-language films to aspire to, it may also dilute the value of that nomination. In the past studios have built the marketing campaign for many films around a coveted best-picture nomination.

In a phone interview Mr. Ganis said support for the change had been very strong among the academy’s governors. He said the academy, which has about 6,000 voting members who work in the film industry, did not consult studios about the possible implications for business. “We’re the arts organization, not the business organization,” he said.

It wll be interesting to see the impact the change has on year-end Top 10 lists. I have only seen four movies this year that would qualify, and only Up would likely to make my year-end list.

VIDEO: Life and Times of Harvey Milk

Although last year's Milk was widely celebrated (and was one of my favorite movies of 2008), years ago the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk is an even more extraordinary documentation of the life of the openly gay civil rights leader who was assassinated. Now YouTube has the entire documentary available for viewing. Check it out!

WIMBLEDON 2009: Serena, Venus, Federer Win Early Rounds

2008 Wimbledon finalists Serena Williams and Roger Federer have made it without incident to the third round. Venus Williams won her first match easily and will play her 2nd Round match today, along with other MadProfessah favorites like Andy Roddick. Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Fernando Verdasco all have won two rounds.

Maria Sharapova was upset by Gisela Dulko on Wednesday in a 6-2 3-6 6-4 match on Wednesday.

Trans-Inclusive ENDA Introduced in U.S. House Today

Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of LCCR flanked by

openly gay U.S. Reps Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Col.)

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2981, which would prohibit employment discrimination in the United States based upon sexual orientation or gender identity, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on Friday, but publicized in a press conference today attended by all three openly gay Congressmembers Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and several representatives from civil rights organizations.

Rea Carey of The Task Force said:

“Today marks a critical milestone for our community and our country. Introduction of this important legislation signals the beginning of the end of a long-fought battle. For decades, a majority of people in this country have supported protecting their friends, family and neighbors from discrimination. Congress must act, at long last, this year.
“Passage of this critical legislation would help ensure that people are allowed to participate on a level-playing field in the workplace. ENDA reflects our country’s core values of fairness and equality. It is immoral to deny lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people the ability to earn a livelihood and provide for their families. People should not have to fear losing their job simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“We are pleased that President Obama has expressed support for this legislation and expect the administration to play a role in assisting with its passage in both the House and Senate.”

Black Homeless L.A. Teen Girl Heads To Harvard

(Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times)

There was a great story in Friday's Los Angeles Times about a local homeless African-American teenaged girl who is attending Harvard this fall. Her name is Khadijah Williams:

As long as she can remember, Khadijah has floated from shelters to motels to armories along the West Coast with her mother. She has attended 12 schools in 12 years; lived out of garbage bags among pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. Every morning, she upheld her dignity, making sure she didn't smell or look disheveled.

On the streets, she learned how to hunt for their next meal, plot the next bus route and help choose a secure place to sleep -- survival skills she applied with passion to her education.

[...]

Khadijah was in third grade when she first realized the power of test scores, placing in the 99th percentile on a state exam. Her teachers marked the 9-year-old as gifted, a special category that Khadijah, even at that early age, vowed to keep.

"I still remember that exact number," Khadijah said. "It meant only 0.01 students tested better than I did."

In the years that followed, her mother, Chantwuan Williams, pulled her out of school eight more times. When shelters closed, money ran out or her mother didn't feel safe, they packed what little they carried and boarded buses to find housing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ventura, San Diego, San Bernardino and Orange County, staying for months, at most, in one place.

She finished only half of fourth grade, half of fifth and skipped sixth. Seventh grade was split between Los Angeles and San Diego. Eighth grade consisted of two weeks in San Bernardino.

At every stop, Khadijah pushed to keep herself in each school's gifted program. She read nutrition charts, newspapers and four to five books a month, anything to transport her mind away from the chaos and the sour smell.

At school, she was the outsider. At the shelter, she was often bullied. "You ain't college-bound," the pimps barked. "You live in skid row!"

In 10th grade, Khadijah realized that if she wanted to succeed, she couldn't do it alone. She began to reach out to organizations and mentors: the Upward Bound Program, Higher Edge L.A., Experience Berkeley and South Central Scholars; teachers, counselors and college alumni networks. They helped her enroll in summer community college classes, gave her access to computers and scholarship applications and taught her about networking.

It's exactly programs like these that will be threatened by California's financial mess. How many more Khadijah Wlliams will not be able to be rescued because the safety net has been slashed by budget cuts?

I strongly urge you to read the entire inspiring story by reporter Esmeralda Bermudez, "She finally has a home: Harvard."

CA-SEN: Feinstein Unsure Obama About Health Care Reform.

This is simply "unhelpful." As DailyKos mentions, why is the Senior Senator from California expressing "grave concern" about health care reform in 2009, when she didn't do so about going to war in Iraq in 2002.



Here's the transcript of the above clip:

KING: Is your president trying to seize this political moment because he has the votes right now and the political capital in the first year in office? And might he as a result potentially do more harm than good if you try to do this all at once?

FEINSTEIN: Well to be candid with you, I don’t know that he has the votes right now. I think there’s a lot of concern in the Democratic caucus. Senator Lugar’s point about the economy, the trillions of dollars that have gone into buttressing the economy, now we’re going to be dealing with regulation of the financial sector. What all of the impact of this is not yet known.

I didn't vote for her in 2006 and will never vote for her for anything ever again. Is it November 2012, yet?

76 Congressmembers Send Letter to Obama To Stop DADT Now

The ball is now in the White House's court on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." 76 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging him to cease DADT prosecutions immediately.

Led by Congressional Black Caucus member Alcee Hastings, Jr., the letter asks for a moratorium on "separations" for military service of LGBT servicemembers who have been deemed to have "told" their sexuality.

Dear President Obama:

The United States of America prides itself on having the finest military in the world because of the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices of our brave servicemen and women. And yet, under 10 U.S.C. § 654 (Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces), better known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the talents and contributions of our openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) service members continue to be ignored simply because of who they are. Every day, we lose approximately two service members to this misguided, unjust, and flat-out discriminatory policy. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not only an injustice to them, but a disservice to the U.S. military and our country as a whole.

As you know, Don't Ask, Don't Tell was signed into law in 1993 by former President Bill Clinton as a compromise to allow gay and lesbian service members to serve in the military -- so long as they did not disclose their sexual orientations. Fifteen years later, Don't Ask Don't Tell is instead negatively impacting the lives and livelihoods of these military professionals and depriving our Armed Forces of their honorable service. Since you took office on January 20, 2009, more than 250 gay and lesbian service members have been discharged under this law, which continues to undermine and demoralize the more than 65,000 gay and lesbian Americans currently serving on active duty.

Although we are confident that you will remain true to your campaign promise to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, our LGBT service members and our country's national security will continue to suffer if initial action is delayed until 2010 or 2011. We urge you to exercise the maximum discretion legally possible in administering Don't Ask, Don't Tell until Congress repeals the law. To this end, we ask that you direct the Armed Services not to initiate any investigation of service personnel to determine their sexual orientation, and that you instruct them to disregard third party accusations that do not allege violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That is, we request that you impose that no one is asked and that you ignore, as the law requires, third parties who tell. Under your leadership, Congress must then repeal and replace Don't Ask, Don't Tell with a policy of inclusion and non-discrimination. This bilateral strategy would allow our openly gay and lesbian service members to continue serving our country and demonstrate our nation's lasting commitment to justice and equality for all.

As the United States continues to work towards responsibly ending the War in Iraq and refocus on the threat from al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, our LGBT service members offer invaluable skills that enhance our country's military competence and readiness. Despite the great strain on our military's human resources, the Armed Forces have discharged almost 800 mission-critical troops and at least 59 Arabic and nine Farsi linguists under Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the last five years. This is indefensible. The financial cost alone of implementing Don't Ask, Don't Tell from Fiscal Year 1994-2003 was more than $363.8 million. Our nation's military has always held itself to the highest standards, and we must recruit and retain the greatest number of our best and brightest. To do anything less only hurts our country's military readiness and our service members.

We also want to bring to your attention the most recent examples of the failed Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in action. New York National Guard First Lieutenant Dan Choi and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fehrenbach are two exceptional servicemen who have dedicated their lives to defending our country and protecting the American people. Their bravery and abilities have been tested in combat, and now they face impending discharge under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

First Lieutenant Choi, a current National Guardsman with the 1st Battalion of the 69th Infantry in Manhattan, is a West Point graduate, Arabic language specialist, and Iraq War veteran who is under investigation for refusing to lie about his identity.

Lieutenant Colonel Fehrenbach, Assistant Director of Operations for the 366th Operations Support Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, has honorably served his country for 18 years as an F-15E pilot. He has received nine air medals, including a Medal for Heroism during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and was hand-picked to protect the airspace over Washington, D.C. after the Pentagon was attacked on September 11, 2001. Lieutenant Colonel Fehrenbach, who has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan against the Taliban and al Qaeda, continues to serve while the recommendation for his honorable discharge moves forward to a review board, and eventually to the Secretary of the Air Force. Just two years away from his 20-year retirement, he stands to lose $46,000 a year in retirement and medical benefits for the rest of his life if discharged.

The American people and service members of the Armed Forces overwhelmingly support the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. According to a national Gallup poll conducted in May 2009, 69% of Americans, including 58% of Republicans, favor allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to serve in the military. Furthermore, a 2006 poll of 545 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan by Zogby International and the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, revealed that 73% are personally comfortable with gay men and lesbian women. John Shalikashvili, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Clinton administration, and more than 100 retired admirals and generals support this repeal, in addition to the Human Rights Campaign, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and Knights Out, an organization of LGBT West Point alumni cofounded by First Lieutenant Choi.

Mr. President, we cannot afford to lose any more of our dedicated and talented service members to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. On behalf of First Lieutenant Choi, Lieutenant Colonel Fehrenbach, and the more than 12,500 gay and lesbian service members who have been discharged since Don't Ask, Don't Tell was implemented in 1994, we stand ready to assist you in repealing this dishonorable and debilitating law as soon as possible, and in restoring justice and equality in our Armed Forces.

Please know that we will continue to monitor this situation and are hopeful that, together, we can address this urgent issue soon. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

The letter was authored by Rep. Hastings and signed by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Fortney "Pete" Stark (D-CA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), José Serrano (D-NY), James Moran (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ed Pastor (D-AZ), James Clyburn (D-SC), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Robert "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Melvin Watt (D-NC), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Jane Harman (D-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Rush Holt (D-NJ), John Larson (D-CT), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), David Wu (D-OR), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Mike Honda (D-CA), James Langevin (D-RI), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Diane Watson (D-CA), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Debbie Wasserman Schulz (D-FL), André Carson (D-IN), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Donna F. Edwards (D-MD), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH), Phil Hare (D-IL), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Joe Sestak (D-PA), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Jared Polis (D-CO), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Gregorio Sablan (D-MP).

WIMBLEDON 2009: Federer's Outfit

Here is Roger Federer's outfit for Wimbledon 2009, designed by Nike. (hat/tip Chandan)

A Visual Summary of the Marriage Equality Debate

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God. The original source is here.

CA-GOV: Villaraigosa Decides Not To Run in 2010

Big political earthquake in California politics. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that he will not be a candidate for California Governor next year. He went on CNN and spoke with Wolf Blitzer:

The mayor, who was re-elected earlier this year, told Blitzer "the answer's no. I make that decision, as I've said many times, because I love the city I was born and raised in."

"I can't leave this city in the middle of a crisis, it's as simple as that," added Villaraigosa. "I was elected mayor are re-elected by the people of this city. They've given me the honor of a second term and I feel compelled to complete the promise that I've made to them."

Villaraigosa's exit leaves the race on the Democratic side between announced gubernatorial candidate San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom and unannounced candidate (former Governor and current California Attorney General) Jerry Brown. Newsom quickly issued a statement:

As a fellow big-city mayor, over the past four years I have gotten to know and respect Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He is a dedicated public servant who is making a difference for the people of Los Angeles every day.

His leadership is valuable to the people of California and the nation, regardless of the office he chooses to hold. His life story is an inspiration to millions of Californians and especially to Latinos everywhere.

I look forward to continuing to work with him, sharing our experiences as mayors, and collaborating on innovative solutions that will take California in a new direction.

As Mayor Villaraigosa has said so eloquently recently, state government needs to change and I believe we can work together to make that a reality.

And the plot thickens. MadProfessah has not endorsed a candidate (yet) but has been impressed by Newsom so far.

VIDEO: U.S. Senate Passes Slavery Apology

You'll recall that I told you on Thursday that the United States Senate was considering a resolution to apologize for slavery, just in time for Juneteenth. Well, the video of the debate is now available:



Hat/tip Joe.My.God

MOVIE REVIEW: The Hangover

The Other Half wanted to see a movie this weekend so we went and saw The Hangover. The film is directed by Todd Phillips and stars Bradley Cooper (ABC's Alias), Ed Helms (The Daily Show, The Office) and two guys I had never heard of before, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha.

The Hangover is most definitely an "adult comedy." It is chock full of ribald jokes, foul language, sexual situations, male frontal nudity, depiction of massive alcohol consumption (and its after effects).

The movie's plot is surprisingly simple but effective. Four friends (well, 2 friends of the groom-to-be plus his future brother-in-law) go to Las Vegas for a Bachelor Party and wake up the next day with a hilariously awful situation: their hotel suite has been ransacked, the groom is missing, and there are strange objects left in the room (an infant, a chicken, a live tiger) and none of them have any memory of what transpired the night before.

Instead of a "whodunit" this is a "what the **** did we do?" kinda movie. Surprisingly, it is very watchable and almost unwatchable at the same time. You can't believe what a horrible situation the guys have gotten themselves into, but you also can't stop watching.

The Hangover is lots of fun, with a standout performance by Helms. Cooper is always easy on the eyes and Galifianakis weird brand of humor takes awhile to get used to, but is (mostly) effective.

MPAA Rating: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material. Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B-.

ACTING: B-.
IMAGERY: B-.
PLOT: B+.
IMPACT: B.

Eye Candy: Anthony Gallo

Thanks to friend of Madprofessah.com, Rod 2.0 I have been exposed to blistering hot Black/Italian model Anthony Gallo, who is today's Eye Candy! Enjoy.

Census Announces It Will Count Same-Sex Married Couples

Great news about the 2010 Census! Following up on Wednesday's badly received announcement that the Obama administration was directing all federal agencies to include same-sex domestic partners in previously optional employment benefits like relocation reimbursement, the Bureau of the Census has announced that they will include same-sex married couples in the 2010 count of all Americans.

This is big news, and an exciting day for academics and my friends at the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School.

The New York Times reported:

Steve Jost, a spokesman for the Census Bureau, said same-sex couples would be counted, “and they ought to report the way they see themselves,” adding, “In the normal process of reports coming out after the census of 2010, I think the country will have a good data set on which to discuss this phenomenon that is evolving in this country.”

Same-sex couples could not be married in the United States during the last decennial count. But last year, after two states had approved same-sex marriages, the bureau said those legal marriages would go uncounted because the federal Defense of Marriage Act prevented the government from recognizing them.

Interestingly, by the time the Census gets underway in March 2010, there will exist married same-sex couples in at least 7 states, and possibly 9. Right now, there are legally married gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts, California, Connecticut and Iowa with Vermont and Maine having laws that go into effect in September 2009 and New Hampshire has a law that goes into effect January 1, 2010. The legislative battles over legal same-sex marriage in New Jersey and New York may have been resolved by then as well.

Rea Carey, executive director of The Task Force sent around a list of Frequently Asked Questions:

Why should I care about the Census?

The U.S. Census creates an essential portrait of our nation, every ten years. This data is used to determine the appropriate number of seats in the House of Representatives. It provides key population numbers for Congress and the Administration to determine how federal dollars flow to the states and the data is used by researchers, advocates and policy makers to develop reports, social service programs, and make critical policy decisions. Accordingly, the Census has a big impact on the political power and economic security of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Since 1990, when the Census added the “unmarried partner” designation on its form, people in same-sex relationships have provided the first visible record of our partnerships in the history of our nation. This data has been very important in countering misconceptions about the LGBT community. For instance, the 2000 Census showed that same-sex couples live in nearly every county in the nation, and that Black and Latino same-sex couples are raising children at nearly the rates of their heterosexual peers, while earning lower incomes.

Is there a sexual orientation or gender identity question on the 2010 Census?

No. Two Reasons:

(1) Questions on the Census take years to advocate for, and must be funded by the passage of legislation through Congress. We are just emerging from the anti-LGBT years of the Bush administration, when this was impossible.

(2) There are only 5 questions on the 2010 Census. They are big, general questions that give over-arching demographic information about every single household in the U.S. They pertain to:

Age

Sex

Race/Ethnicity

Relationship

Tenure (rent/own your home)

While we cannot as individual LGBT people make our sexual orientation or gender identity visible on the 2010 Census form, those of us who are partnered can check the “unmarried partner” box, and those couples that have legally married can check the “husband or wife” box.

A note for bi/multi-racial couples: It is not widely known that the race of the household member who fills out the Census form determines the racial designation of a family in one of the Census’ major statistical tables. Given that people of color are often undercounted by the Census, couples or families may want to consider having a person of color identify as household member #1 when filling out the form for a family.

How do I know that the government won’t use this information to target me or my family for discrimination?

The Census must ensure absolute confidentiality of these records in order to carry out its monumental task every ten years. There is no record of any LGBT individual or family being persecuted for checking the “unmarried partner” box.

Another interesting thought experiment is how many states do you think will have gay marriage in 2020? Ten? Twenty? All 50 (51)?