By Debbie Schlussel

This is unfortunate news that hasn’t really been reported in the mainstream media and which–oddly–cannot even be found on the U.S. Census website.

On Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau and its parent, the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced that legally married gay couples (from California pre-Prop 8 and from other states in which it’s legal) will be counted as marriages in the 2010 U.S. Census.  But, strangely, you can only find out about this disturbing prospect in the gay media.

Although the federal government left the issue of who can marry to the states, this is a frightening turn, as it essentially transforms the issue into a federal one–very dangerous when liberal Democrats run the show in almost every branch.  Today, the U.S. Census Bureau, tomorrow, the IRS and lots of other federal agencies.  And, as you probably know, the Census isn’t just used to apportion Congressional districts.  It’s used for doling out lots of federal cash.

What’s that rustling sound? The fast revolutions of several Constitutional drafters spinning in their graves.  No doubt, the Founding Fathers never intended us to count men married to men and women married to women when they crafted, Article I, Section 2–the portion of the Constitution requiring that a national census be taken.

Exit Question:  Now that we’ve lowered the bar, when do we start counting menages-a-trois as marriages?  And will they count as two marriages or one-and-a-half?  Most of Hollywood need to know.

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Meanwhile, the State of Wisconsin chose to allow gay couples to register with the state as “domestic partners,” giving them many legal protections previously afforded to married couples consisting of a man and a woman, including inheritance and medical leave rights.

And since this applies to domestic partners, Wisconsin has given people (including straight couples) no incentive to be married.  Wisconsin–and other states like it–are essentially the new Europe (minus the B.O. . . . but with a more dangerous B.O. in the White House).