Last Saturday the Latino Equality Alliance held a Community Forum at the Highland Park Cultural Center to talk about why it is important for all Latinos to be counted in the 2010 Census, especially including LGBT Latinos. The over 50 attendants also were given an opportunity to talk about the common misconceptions and challenges faced by LGBT Latinos.

Working in the LGBT movement can be trying at times, but forums like these give me the adrenaline needed to keep up my momentum. During the forum we broke out into 6 small groups to discuss questions like: “What issues do LGBT Latinos Face?” and “What can we do to build support for the LGBT Community in the Latino Community?” The ideas were vast, but the common theme was building relationship by finding common ground and bonding through those similarities. I take great pride in the work I do with LEA and look forward to helping roll out some of the ideas that were discussed on Saturday. E-mail me if you have any ideas of your own.

MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) and the Census Bureau also presented on the significance of participating in the 2010 census. I agree with Ari Gutierrez, LEA co-chair and vice president of HONOR Political Action Committee who said, “We appreciate the Census Bureau is recognizing the LGBT community to be as diverse as the general public and that each community comes with its own needs.”

The Latino Equality Alliance hosts the LGBT Community Forum to inform same-sex couples on how to respond to the Census as married or unmarried partners. Transgender individuals should respond as they self-identify. The U.S. Census Bureau and MALDEF were also present in support of the effort and gave presentations to the group.