Defending Human Rights and Civil Protections at the Census Bureau
October 12, 2026
Woodhull Freedom Foundation Response to a Proposed Rule by the Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau: Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions
Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a national organization dedicated to defending and protecting sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Woodhull protects individuals’ rights across the United States to enjoy sexual dignity, privacy, and consensual sexual expression without societal or governmental interference, coercion, or stigmatization. In carrying out this work, we defend the rights, health, and safety of all LGBTQIA+ individuals. It is in this capacity that we submit this comment to oppose the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Census Bureau proposed rule change published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2026, related to proposed regulations for demographic questions.
If it comes into effect, the proposed rule will prohibit the inclusion of questions on sexual orientation on the “short form decennial census questionnaire or any questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population.” The Census Bureau tries to justify the proposed rule by claiming there is a “reduced need for or usefulness” of collecting demographic information related to sexual orientation. The Census Bureau also argues that including questions related to sexual orientation are “(potentially) sensitive” and their inclusion poses a “disclosure risk” to respondents. The Bureau states that this prohibition on sexual orientation questions will, “reduce response burden as well as the risk of disclosure.”
We believe these concerns are disingenuous, as President Trump and those in his administration have waged a merciless assault on individuals whose sexual orientation is not strictly aligned with heteronormative conventions. We strongly believe the Census Bureau’s invoking concerns over “the risk of disclosure” is nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse. We are deeply concerned that the prohibition of questions related to sexual orientation is, in fact, a brazen attempt to erase the LGBTQ+ community.
Our concerns are warranted due to the ever-escalating attacks by the Trump administration against the LGBTQ+ community. This includes through the enforcement of the White House’s Executive Order 14168 “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This Order attempts to make it the United States policy to recognize only two sexes, male and female. The erasure of the LGBTQ+ community is the administration’s goal, which this proposed rule hastens not only be prohibiting questions on sexual orientation but also by only allowing collection of demographic details related to “biological sex.”
As described in Executive Order 14168, this administration defines an individual’s sex as being based on an “immutable biological classification as either male or female”. We are therefore extremely alarmed by how this proposed rule will lead to collecting inaccurate demographic information about the American population. This will have lasting and devastating impacts for society broadly and fuel discrimination against Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Expansive individuals. The recognition of only two sexes is not only scientifically inaccurate but extremely harmful to the mental and physical well-being of gender diverse individuals. We include here a brief excerpt from our Fact Checked by Woodhull series, which addresses the reality of sex and gender:
“Sex and gender are complex and exist on a spectrum, yet society often creates narrow, rigid categories that fail to reflect this diversity. These restrictive categories can cause harm by excluding and shaming anyone who exists outside of these lines, especially transgender and intersex people. Being forced into categories that do not align with identity can cause discrimination and violence in families, healthcare, and social systems. This can have serious long-term emotional and physical consequences for individuals who are outside of these lines. For example, transgender youth reported significantly increased rates of depression, suicidality, and victimization compared to their cisgender peers. These are often accompanied by struggling with belonging in school, family issues, and internalized self-stigma.”
It is imperative that the Census Bureau and all federal government policies accurately represent the complexities of sex and gender. We include in this comment PDFs of Woodhull publications, which provide accurate language that should be used in public policy related to gender and sex:
This proposed rule from the Census Bureau threatens human rights and civil protections for millions of people throughout the United States and furthers the cruel attacks against transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive individuals. We also raise alarm at the fact that this is all part of a nationwide assault on trans people that is so dire that the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has warned that policies targeting transgender people in the United States are indicative of the early stages of genocide.
We call on the Census Bureau to recognize the proposed rule’s inherent harms to human rights and gender equality and reject its implementation.