Reversing a decision made during the Bush Administration, the Census Bureau plans to count married same-sex couples in the 2010 census, reports the Washington Blade.

“They will be counted, and they ought to report the way they see themselves,” said Steve Jost, a spokesperson for the Census Bureau, who said the Bureau is already preparing for the technical challenges in making sure that the information collected is reliable.

One challenge the Bureau is facing is categorizing couples under civil unions or domestic partnerships or marriages. Gary Gates, a demographer from UCLA who is working with the bureau on this issue, says the bureau needs to find a way to capture accurately both legally married couples and those in civil unions or domestic partnerships.  “Thirty percent of same-sex couples in the year 2000 used the term ‘husband’ or ‘wife,’ and none of them were married…now we think maybe there are 35,000 who are legally married, but they are finding 10 times as many using that term,” Gates said.

“We regard this as a very important issue and we also understand the sensitivity. This is about folks’ identity,” Jost said. “We are experienced in dealing with changing social phenomena and how to measure and report that, and we want to get it right.”