US government sued for refusing to release ‘vital’ LGBTQ+ census data
The Trump Administration has been sued over its refusal to release the LGBTQ+ census data. (Getty)
The Trump Administration has been sued over its refusal to release the LGBTQ+ census data. (Getty)
A not-for-profit legal services group is suing the US government over its refusal to publish “critical” LGBTQ+ census information.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday (22 September), alleged that the Trump administration “unlawfully” withheld data that would result in questions on sexual orientation and gender identity being included in the next American Community Survey.
The annual survey, led by the US Census Bureau, collects information, including about ancestry, income and education, from more than 3.5 million households.
Dr Jonathan B Freeman, who filed the legal complaint alongside Democracy Forward, claimed that the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce failed to release information from the survey’s 2024 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Test.
The test, which involved close to 500,000 households, could determine whether the next survey would include questions on the sexuality and gender of respondents.
In a statement, Democracy Forward criticised the move to withhold data “crucial to [ensuring] the needs of LGBTQ+ people are accurately reflected in federal policy and decision-making”.
Freeman claimed the refusal to make public the information undermined the Census Bureau’s “scientific integrity” and the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the US.
“The Census Bureau promised transparency around this testing, yet has withheld the very information needed to evaluate the suitability of sexual orientation and gender identity questions in our nation’s most important annual demographic survey,” he claimed. “As a researcher, I know how vital data is for ensuring civil rights are upheld and that public policies reflect the realities of people’s lives.”
Since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the government has purged vital LGBTQ+ online resources, including HIV prevention advice. The administration has removed or modified more than 8,000 web pages and at least 3,000 data sets, the majority of which related to diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives, and LGBTQ+ history.
Democracy Forward president and chief executive Skye Perryman urged policymakers to ensure “fairness and equality” by releasing the information.
“In a democracy, government data collection must be transparent, especially when it directly informs how civil rights are enforced and how resources are distributed,” he said. “The Census Bureau cannot withhold critical information that communities, researchers and policymakers need to ensure fairness and equality.”
Earlier this month, after nine major medical organisations sued the government, a district court judge ordered the administration to restore hundreds of web pages removed from government sites such as the National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
The Washington State Medical Association, which represents more than 13,000 physicians, condemned the removal of “trusted information” on which many doctors rely to monitor their patients’ health.
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