No LGBTQ Category Included in Census Proposal for 2020 Count

The U.S. Census Bureau did not include a separate count of LGBTQ Americans in its proposal for the 2020 Census.

The category had been sought by gay rights advocates.

The bureau counts Americans according to race, gender and other characteristics. Its proposal submitted to Congress this week did not have a separate category for LGBTQ.

A Census Bureau spokesman told The Washington Times that they had been asked by members of Congress to include the questions, and had been studying it — but determined there was no "federal need" for that information to be collected.

But gay rights advocates say it's more evidence that President Donald Trump is going back on a campaign promise to protect the gay community. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services removed questions on sexuality from two of its surveys.

The Trump administration also has canceled an Obama administration directive that students should use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.