The U.S. Census Bureau wants to ask American residents about their sexual orientation and gender identity, a move seen by activists as a long-overdue form of formal recognition that happens to be coming during a time of mixed acceptance and hostility.

“Any kind of inclusivity is welcome. Visibility is always good,” said Manny Muro, vice president of OC Pride, a group that works to build recognition and fight stigma for the LGBTQ+ community in Orange County, California.

“There hasn’t been an accurate count of our community for years, maybe ever,” Muro added.

“And having this, in the census, will help make sure that federal dollars aimed at fighting discrimination, and helping people in need, won’t ignore us.

“We’ll see where this takes us.”

It’s unclear exactly how sexual orientation and identity questions will be phrased or when they will be asked.

The Census Bureau said May 1 that it is seeking public comment aimed at shaping future questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, a formal step in what typically is a multi-year process before adding new questions to an upcoming census.

The questions would appear first in the American Community Survey, a tracking of American life that the Census Bureau conducts every year. After that, orientation and identity questions could appear on the next census – a head count of every person living in the country – slated for 2030.

The Census Bureau said it wants the information to paint a more complete portrait of America’s population, and to help other federal agencies covering everything from health care and banking to the environment.

It won’t be the first time the federal government has asked about sexual identity and orientation.

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