Will the 2020 census count the LGBTQ community?

LGBTQ members and their supporters take part in the Equality March for Unity & Pride parade in downtown Washington D.C., June 11, 2017. JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The question seems almost disarming in its simplicity: How many gay people are in America?

Or, taking a more wide-angle, modern look at it: How many Americans identify as LGBTQ?

The question is simple enough. The answer most certainly is not. Just approaching an answer is a chore. People have been working at it for decades.