This is a followup to the email we at Garden State Equality sent you yesterday about answering the U.S. Census. This has new information after many of you asked us questions.

Where on the Census form are the boxes to check your relationship status? Indeed, this is hard to find on the form and a bit convoluted. If you and your spouse or partner live together in the same household, you file a joint Census form. On the second page of the form, it asks you to print the name of Person 2. This is where you print the name of your spouse or partner.

After you write in the name of Person 2, ie your spouse or partner, the form asks the question: How is this person related to Person 1? This is where the relationship check-off boxes are. Whichever box you check off for Person 2, ie your spouse or partner, indicates your relationship. You are allowed to check only one box there.

We’d like to make one semantic clarification of yesterday’s email. The relationship boxes under Person 2, ie your spouse or partner, don’t include the word “married.” The exact terminology for that box is “Husband or wife,” i.e. is Person 2 the husband or wife or Person 1.

Note, just as we said in our email to you of yesterday, there is also a box for “unmarried partner.”

Again, our most passionate advice remains this: If you are a same-sex couple living together in the same household, check off either the “husband or wife” box or the “unmarried partner” box under Person 2.

If you are a same-sex couple living together in the same household, do not check off any other option under Person 2 – that would lead to an undercounting of the LGBT population with potentially terrible public policy ramifications.

And remember that the 2010 U.S. Census allows you to report your relationship however you yourselves define it – not how government or the law defines it. If you consider yourselves married, no matter whether you are legally married, civil unioned, domestic partnered or have not legalized your relationship anywhere, you may check off the “husband or wife” box under Person 2.

If you have not received your Census form, by the way, here for your reference is a sample form by pdf: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Questionnaire_Info.pdf. But note, you can only fill out and mail back the actual form you get in the mail.

Keep the questions coming, everyone. You may email them to us at Census@GardenStateEquality.org.

Feel free to forward this email to your family, friends, colleagues and list servs.

Thanks so much from all of us at Garden State Equality.