SANTA ANA, Calif. – The U.S. Census Bureau is sending out the final reminders this week before it starts sending out census takers to visit non-responding households in August. The Bureau is encouraging everyone to fill out the form especially because, for the first time ever, the census can be filled out all online. 

But that’s not the only thing new this year. The form now includes a new option when answering who you’re living with, for same-sex relationships. Jonatan Gutiérrez is a Latinx gay man in Orange County, and said he’s proud of that, but that it wasn’t always the case. 

“At least on my end,” Gutiérrez said. “There were those feelings of feeling confused because of my upbringing and my culture, feeling like my sexual orientation wasn’t approved, so there was definitely that feeling of alienation, loneliness.”

Now, he’s confident in his ethnicity and orientation, and he wants the same for others. He says the “same-sex” option on the census is a step in the right direction for inclusion and representation. Question 3 asks: ‘How is this person related to Person 1?’ With options that include: Same-sex husband/wife/spouse, and Same-sex unmarried partner.

A 2017 Gallup poll shows about 4.5 percent of Americans are a part of the LGBTQ community, but Gutiérrez said that rate is likely much higher because most government surveys don’t include LGBTQ options.

“It’s definitely much higher,” Gutiérrez said. “We’re still not getting that accurate data as to how many LGBTQ individuals are actually residing in Orange County, in California, in the United States.”

Gutiérrez said the nation needs to know how many people are actually in all communities, so everyone can feel accepted and counted. The census results will also help effectively allocate federal dollars for resources.

Gutiérrez said the LGBTQ community relies heavily on resources like SNAP benefits, Medicaid, affordable housing, and health center programs. Right now, Gutiérrez works as an Immigration Outreach Coordinator at the Orange County LGBTQ Center and said he knows there is a need for resources. 

“So it’s like, by us being counted, by me being counted, I’m making sure my community has access to those services,” Gutiérrez said.

Now, Gutiérrez and his team are sparking a social media movement: #QueerTheCensus, to encourage everyone to fill out the census, LGBTQ or not. He said while the census is making strides, there’s still a long way to go before full representation. Gutiérrez said they’re fighting for other sexual identity options to be available other than male or female. 

“We can start letting the Census Bureau know that in order for us to really capture us to our whole, they need to be more inclusive in our questions,” Gutiérrez said. “They need to include something that is going to capture who we are, whether that be a sexual orientation or more options for the gender.”

He said he hopes the LGBTQ community as well as other underrepresented populations will fill out the form so the federal government can correctly disperse money to states.

Gutiérrez said the Orange County LGBTQ center is teaming up with other organizations for the California Census Week of Action. Next week, his team will make phone bank calls targeting regions in Orange County that have low response rates to the Census. They’re hoping they can help households through the process before census takers start showing up at people’s doors. 

This week, President Trump also signed a memorandum to exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted in congressional districts when district lines are redrawn next year. Governor Gavin Newsom is denouncing the president’s order calling it a “racist attack” against the country’s institution. This comes less than a year after the Supreme Court ruled against the administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.