FINALLY, some good news from the house of O:

YES, even as hard as i've been on the "fierce advocate" here at the dump, when i see GOOD news, i'll blog it as such. this is one of those instances...for the most part.

via the wall street journal (full article here)

WASHINGTON -- The White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community.

The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn't released same-sex marriage data.

The gay community strongly supported President Barack Obama during the 2008 election. But some gay activists say they have been frustrated by what they see as his slow approach to rolling back discriminatory policies.

snip

An accurate statistical snapshot of legally married same-sex couples may be elusive. Before the White House's plan emerged, Howard Hogan, associate director for demographic programs at the Census Bureau, said data from its 2007 American Community Survey showed more than 340,000 same-sex couples as being in marriages. But according to data from Massachusetts, the only state that permitted gay marriages in 2007, about 11,000 marriage licenses were issued for same-sex couples.

ok, howard, let me state the painfully obvious: just because only 11,000 glbt marriage licenses were issued doesn't mean that there weren't a heckuva lot more gay marriages that took place in houses of worship all across the land, whether they qualified as "civil" marriages or not.

perhaps if O is shown the disparity in glbt couples who self-identify as "married" vs. those who have "state sanctioned" marriages, he'll see the GROSS DISPARITY.

all the more reason to grant full marriage equality, YESTERDAY!