The Washington Post’s Christopher Lee flags a disconcerting bit of news first reported by the San Jose Mercury News: the U.S. Census Bureau will classify gay, married couples as "unmarried partners" in its 2010 census. There are more than 10,000 gay marriages in Massachusetts and will likely be a few thousand more the next year in California.

With Massachusetts and California the only states to recognize gay marriage, there are likely bigger problems in the gay rights world than the 2010 census. Still, the move is insulting and robs the public of potentially critical demographic information. What is the median income of a gay married couple? What is their median age?

The census workers’ defense is that they are following the Bill Clinton/Newt Gingrich era Defense of Marriage Act. That law prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the government’s "defense of marriage."-MB

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