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Census finds more same-sex households

Increase attributed to greater openness, better counting procedures

By NAHAL TOOSI
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: Aug. 21, 2001

More than 8,200 households in Wisconsin are headed by same-sex couples, a census finding that gay-rights activists say is an undercount but one that indicates that the state's gay and lesbian community is more open than ever.

Same-sex Households Photo/Ronald M. Overdahl To Erv Uecker (left), shown with partner Ross Walker, the 2000 census' increase in same-sex households is not surprising. Graphic/Bob Veierstahler Wisconsin same-sex households Graphic/Mike Johnson U.S. same-sex households Quotable This notion that gay people are living in San Francisco and New York and nowhere else is completely debunked by the numbers. - David Smith, spokesman, Human Rights Campaign Related Coverage Section: Census 2000

Of the state's 8,232 same-sex couples identified in the 2000 census, the largest number - 1,408 couples - live in Milwaukee, 0.6% of all households in the city. Madison runs second in the state with 916 couples - 1% of total households there.

The couples live in every Wisconsin county and almost every city, from one couple in Omro to 74 in La Crosse. Nationally, the census counted 594,391 households headed by same-sex couples, and Wisconsin ranked 24th among states and the District of Columbia in the number of those households.

None of this is big news to many gays and lesbians in the Milwaukee area.

Ross Walker and Erv Uecker have been a couple for 44 years and lived in Milwaukee for the last 18. They've never kept their sexuality a secret, but they don't dwell on it or throw it in people's faces, the two said.

The census results further prove that not all families consist of "a man, a woman, and 2.3 children," Uecker said.

"To me, it's sort of ho-hum," Uecker, 69, said, later adding, "I think the reporting mechanisms were easier this time. A lot of people feel more comfortable with stating the facts of their lives on the census."

Undercount?

A 1948 study headed by researcher Alfred Kinsey suggested that 10% of the male population engaged in homosexual behavior; other studies and exit poll data from elections since then have suggested lower figures.

According to the new census figures, same-sex households make up just over one-half of 1% of the 105.5 million U.S. homes.

The figures were derived by counting the number of people who checked off "unmarried partner" on their form and also said they lived with someone of the same sex.

The census survey didn't ask about individuals' sexual orientation, and it didn't count gay couples who do not live together. And because many gays and lesbians are still too scared to divulge their sexuality, the actual number of couples is probably higher, census officials and gay rights activists said.

"There is a concern for where the information will go, how it will be used, and is it going to identify or 'out' the person in a certain way," said Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community Center.

The Census Bureau doesn't plan to change the way it counts gays unless Congress passes laws requiring it, said Jason Fields, a demographer with the bureau.

"It's the best count that we have," Fields said. "It's not a measure of sexual orientation. This is a measure of living arrangements."

Those who oppose gay rights see the low numbers as validating their claim that the gay population doesn't deserve political protection.

"Clearly this tiny percentage does not justify . . . passage of local or state laws that grant special protected-class status to such behavior," said Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association's Michigan affiliate.

"It's obviously in the political interests of homosexual activists to artificially inflate the number of people who engage in homosexual behavior."

California, New York, Texas and Florida led the country in the number of same-sex-led households. In terms of percentage, the District of Columbia led, with 1.48% of all D.C. households. California and Vermont tied for second at 0.80%.

But though it appears that states and cities recorded huge increases from their 1990 results for same-sex households, even those comparisons aren't fair, according to the Census Bureau.

In 1990, the bureau's computers assumed people made errors on their forms and automatically reassigned genders or relationship status of many of those who said they were married or had a partner of the same sex, the bureau said.

"We were there before, we just weren't counted," said David Elliot, a spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a Washington-based gay rights group.

Growing tolerance

It's also a credit to a more politically active gay community, they said.

In the 1990s, gays and lesbians increased efforts to bring about legislation outlawing hate crimes, and allowing civil unions, domestic partnership benefits and adoption rights for gays.

In Milwaukee, five neighborhood "rainbow associations" have formed in recent years to serve as forums for gays and lesbians in parts of the city.

The Milwaukee Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community Center opened in 1998, and a domestic partner registry was set up in 1999. And, earlier this summer, the Milwaukee Common Council - after putting up a fight - agreed to a union contract that offers health insurance benefits for domestic partners of city workers.

Some of this activism nationally was focused on the 2000 census. Advertisements in the gay media, public service announcements and e-mail messages urged gays and lesbians to acknowledge their relationships on the 2000 census forms.

Comparisons

Midwestern states had far fewer: Illinois has 22,887; Indiana, 10,219; Iowa, 3,698; Michigan, 15,368; and Minnesota, 9,147.

When compared with the iffy census numbers in 1990, most states had dramatic surges in the percentage of same-sex households.

In Wyoming, only 30 such couples were reported in 1990. In 2000, it was 807, a 2,590% increase. For Wisconsin, the figure leaped 311%, to 8,232, because only 2,002 same-sex couples identified themselves in 1990.

The total number of households counted in Wisconsin was about 2.1 million, so the percentage of those that are led by gays or lesbians is 0.4%. Milwaukee's population of gay couples - 1,408 - is fairly low compared with other Midwestern cities. Minneapolis has 2,622 couples while Chicago has 9,412.

Still, "This notion that gay people are living in San Francisco and New York and nowhere else is completely debunked" by the numbers, said David Smith, spokesman for the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, another gay rights group.

"Gay people are living in every part of the country. The Midwest is no different and Wisconsin is no different."

Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.