http://www.newsweek.com/id/219859

"Sarah," an active-duty soldier in Iraq, can hardly be questioned for her patriotism or courage. But when it comes to filling out her 2010 census form, her primary emotion is fear. "I keep real quiet about my partner," she tells NEWSWEEK. "Even this conversation is a violation of the law, but I've stepped away from the other soldiers so I'm not 'a threat to morale.' " Sarah is tired of the subterfuge and wishes she could use her real name for this article without getting fired under "don't ask, don't tell" legislation. She's anxious because she knows this census is a watershed moment for the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community, as it is for gay soldiers. "A lot of people don't want to believe there are 60,000 of us in the military. I don't believe it either. I think that number is bigger."

For the first time in the centuries-long history of the census, the number of same-sex couples who self-identify as married—license or no license—will be tabulated and released to the public. The move is seen as both a friendly nod to the gay community—which had pinned its hopes on President Obama and has, at least in some quarters, been frustrated by a perceived slow response to gay-rights issues—and a boost to policy fights, from challenging laws that limit gay adoptions to the nationwide legalization of gay marriage.

The release of the data also marks a major shift in the evolution of the Census Bureau. In 1990 it edited the answers of self-identified gay husbands and wives to make them appear as opposite-sex partners; in 2000, instead of editing the sex of a gay spouse it edited the data to describe the same-sex couples as "unmarried partners." While the Census Bureau doesn't make policy, its data will be instrumental to inform it. "This will not be a count of the gay population of the U.S., but it will be the biggest, most profound data set that anyone has ever had," says Timothy Olson, assistant division chief in the U.S. Census Field Division. "There will finally be good data for policymakers to engage in the issues with facts, not speculations."

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