WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday sharply revised downward its estimate of the number of same-sex households across the country, reflecting confusion over how to accurately count gay and lesbian couples that have gained varying degrees of legal recognition of their partnerships over the past decade.

Unlike with factors such as race, gender and household income, the Census Bureau doesn't attempt to count gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. Only in the 2000 census did it start to count same-sex households, and demographers say the wording of the forms may have led to an unusually high number of inaccurate responses.

Read the complete story(Some news sites require registration)