Barack Obama, historic president, is hosting his first, and historic, White House Easter Egg Roll.
It's historic because the Obama White House has specifically encouraged gay families to attend.
From On Top Magazine:
About 100 gay and lesbian families are expected to participate in Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll, reports the AP.
White House officials said tickets to the traditional springtime event had been distributed to GLBT organizations. Several gay groups confirmed they were invited, including Family Equality Council, Human Rights Campaign and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
“The Obama administration actually reached out to us as an organization, and said we want gay families there, and they are an important part of the American family fabric,” Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Boston-based Family Equality Council, told the news service.
...The courting of gay and lesbian families is a dramatic reversal from Bush administration protocol. When more than 100 gay parents attended the event in 2006, conservatives howled at their presence, accusing the parents of trying to “crash” and politicize the family event.
“We feel so welcomed and embraced, and that in a very real way, I think we can just go as a family and enjoy it,” said Brooklyn resident Colleen Gillespie, who participated in the 2006 event. “We don't have to fight for our right to exist and be treated fairly.”
This is terribly misleading.
I wrote a post about the alleged controversy of the 2006 event on April 16, 2006.
Note: Because of the age of the post, the links I included no longer are accessible.
"Much Ado about Absolutely NOTHING"
Posted April 16, 2006
This is such a non-story that I think it's worth noting for that reason alone.
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President George W. Bush and his wife Laura launched the annual White House Easter egg party while managing to avoid any awkward moments with dozens of gay couples and their children who attended the outdoor event.
...But gay groups joined the queue for tickets -- which were given out to families on a first-come, first served basis at the White House on Saturday.
Despite the opposition of conservative religious groups, Bush and his wife Laura chose not to prevent the gay parents from attending.
WHAT?
Of course, the President and Mrs. Bush "chose not to prevent gay parents from attending."
It's ridiculous to even imagine that they would consider such a cruel move as not allowing children of gay parents to join in the tradition.
The gay groups said their gesture was meant to make their presence felt in American society even though Bush opposes legalizing gay marriage.
I suppose the gesture was important to the gay parents in attendance. I think the majority of the other parents and children there could not have cared less. The day was not about gay marriage.
There were no confrontations or tense moments as the opening of the event was closed to the public, with the president and his wife meeting invited guests, including families of White House staff and volunteers.
Why would parents and children visiting the White House for the Easter Egg Roll be confrontational under any circumstances?
How goofy! The day was about family and fun, not creating tension.
The gay parents also chose a discreet approach without any explicit protest, identifying themselves with rainbow-coloured flowers.
Gee, I guess the heterosexual parents decided to take an even more discreet approach and not identify their sexual preferences at all.
This is really, really lame.
I don't know why this was even an issue.
This certainly isn't the first year that gay parents brought their children to the Easter Egg Roll.
I don't see why the gay parents felt the need to politicize the event and, in effect, use their children as pawns to make their statement.
What does the sexual orientation of the parents have to do with this Easter celebration?
It's completely irrelevant.
Mrs. Bush made it clear that "all families [were] welcome to attend the Easter egg roll."Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Easter Egg Roll
(Excerpt)
MRS. BUSH: Hello, everyone. Welcome to this happiest of traditions at the White House. I'm so thrilled you all are here. In Washington, we know that spring has arrived when the White House lawn is filled with children for the Easter Egg Hunt. I want to thank all of the children here today who brought their parents with them. Thank you for bringing adults. Have a wonderful time today. And thank you for bringing so much joy to the White House grounds. We hope all of you have a great time.
At no point in her relatively brief remarks did Mrs. Bush bring up the sexual proclivities of the adults present.
I suppose she didn't bring up the subject because it would have been an inappropriate topic for both children and adults in attendance, and because IT WAS TOTALLY INCONSEQUENTIAL TO THE EASTER EGG ROLL.
From New York Blade Online:
"I think it's important to show people that we're ordinary just like them, and we have families and children who like Easter Egg rolls," Way said.
The idea seemed to have worked, according to Imirowicz.
"There was not one unkind word," Imirowicz said about the reaction from the straight parents. "They seemed to say that was a good thing — [that children of gay parents] deserved Easter Eggs as well as the other kids."
Why would anyone expect unkind words? The straight parents were at the White House to enjoy the tradition with their kids, not harass people.
I think the entire "gay and lesbian families storm the White House" thing was silly.
The best way to show how "ordinary" the gay parents and their children really are would have been to just go and enjoy the event.
If their families aren't different, why bother to wear rainbow-colored flowers to mark themselves?
Parents, gay or straight, love their children, and want to celebrate the joy of Easter.
It seems simple enough to me.
_________________
This outreach by the Obama White House is a political stunt.
The suggestion is that the Bush administration excluded gay families from participating. That's flat-out false.
ALL families were invited to participate in the annual egg roll. Gay families were welcomed the same as any other family.
The event is a joyous occasion for children and their parents to share. One's sexuality isn't a factor. It's irrelevant.
The Bush administration didn't "court" gay families. Why would it?
Why draw those distinctions?
The 100 tickets set aside for gay families is a political ploy by Obama, pure and simple. It's a small amount given the total number of tickets available. I find it demeaning, token gays.
Gay families haven't been prevented from participating in years past. They had the same access to tickets as everyone else.
This year is different (historic) in that they're getting this bizarre preferential treatment.
What's fair about that?
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