"All Families Are Really Welcome To Attend"

[MrsSpringsteen]

If they are all really welcome to attend, what is the big deal? I can't think of a better time than Easter to truly accept all families.

Interesting- on the cnn.com poll, 69 % of respondents say this is a political stunt, 31 % say it is an attempt to gain acceptance

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/20/eggs.roll.ap/index.html


NEW YORK (AP) -- Three months before the annual Easter egg roll at the White House, the usually festive event is already taking on a divisive edge because of plans by gay- and lesbian-led families to turn out en masse in hopes of raising their public profile.

The Family Pride Coalition and other organizers envision the April 17 action as a celebration that will earn good will and showcase their families engaging in the annual tradition.

"It's important for our families to be seen participating in all aspects of American life," said Family Pride executive director Jennifer Chrisler.

Yet some conservatives, alerted to the plans this week, accuse gay activists of trying to "crash" an event for children and turn it into a forum for ideological politicking..........

To ensure visibility for the action, Family Pride will issue T-shirts to participants, bearing a "nonpolitical message" that would identify them as gay and lesbian families. Chrisler said the T-shirt theme would be "Love makes a family."

 

[BonosSaint]

I'm thinking about this.

 

[Kieran McConville]

well maybe a political 'stunt' IS an 'attempt to gain acceptance'... I mean, that's usually why people do 'public' things, isn't it?

Personally I can't think of anything worse than an 'easter egg roll' , but that's just me.

 

[verte76]

The White House Easter egg roll is often political anyway. When it's the White House it's hard to keep politics out of it.

 

[melon]

Yeah, well, a lot of conservatives would think that the sheer existence of homosexuals in public is a political stunt, so who gives a flying fuck what they think?

Melon

 

[DILETTANTE]

I'm not sure what I think about this. I think that it's great that the families will be participating. But if the point is for them to go as a group, wearing t-shirts that identify themselves as part of a larger, organized group rather than as families, hmmm, I don't know. That seems to be using what's supposed to be a family event to make a larger political statement, and I'm uncomfortable with the idea of children being used in that way.
At the same time, as verte76 pointed out, it's hard, if not impossible, to keep politics out of it -- something that I think is unfortunate. In this case, we've got politics, religion, and culture, all set to clash at what, in my view, should be a pleasant activity for children. It's hard for me to imagine a happy ending to this one.

 

[Dreadsox]

Because that is what the day is supposed to be about, taking an event for children and making a political statement.....

Wrong forum.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of gay and lesbian parents hoping to take their families to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll plan to start lining up Friday evening to make sure they get tickets for the Monday event.

Thousands of tickets -- an estimated 16,000 last year -- are given away on a first-come-first-served basis beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

National Park Service officials said Wednesday that children of all ages may attend as long as there is at least one child 7 years old or younger, and no more than two adults per group.

First lady Laura Bush's office issued a statement saying all families are welcome to attend.

"I don't think this is a protest," said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition. "Showing up, participating fully in an American tradition, showing Americans that we do exist, that in our minds isn't a protest."

Some say the gay and lesbian parents are playing politics.

"I think it's inappropriate to use a children's event to make a political statement," said Mark D. Tooley of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

The gay and lesbian parents say they won't carry signs or chant slogans, but will wear rainbow-colored leis as a unifying symbol.

"The message is that gay and lesbian families are everywhere in this country," said Chrisler. "We care about the same things that all parents care about: providing our children with every opportunity and every experience possible. "

 

[DrTeeth]

It annoys the hell out of me that perfectly good people have to participate in this nonsensical Easter tradition in order to get accepted.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

cnn.com video

http://www.cnn.com/video/player/pla...2006/04/17/franken.dc.gay.easter.egg.roll.cnn

Yeah that's pretty silly, someone w/ bunny ears saying that. What exactly is the problem with the rainbow colored leis?

 

[Irvine511]

[q]White House changes Easter Egg Roll admit process; LGBT families 'moved from front of the line'

by Michael Rogers

After waiting outside overnight to be among the first to enter this year's White House Easter Egg Roll, families in line were surprised to learn that the White House had changed the ticketing policy for the annual event, PageOneQ has learned.

The unannounced change means that the families who waited in line the longest, in one case for twenty-four hours, will not be among the visitors at the event's opening ceremonies. The first families in line, who were not part of the LGBT family group, received tickets with an 11:00am entrance time, two hours later than the opening time listed in the White House press release.

Various media reports have publicized participation of lesbian and gay families, including a piece in the New York Times, which ran on April 10th, and media representatives were interviewing families in the line about the small swirl of controversy created by the decision of LGBT families to participate in the annual event. This morning, cameras from approximately half a dozen television stations, including CNN, were on the Ellipse, interviewing families about the decision of LGBT parents to participate.

In a telephone call and email exchange with PageOneQ earlier today, Deputy White House Dana Perino, the Deputy White House Press Secretary told PageOneQ that, "[T]he number of tickets are the same as every year, and that the large group we invited this year is youth volunteers ... and they are coming in the morning. We invite a group like that every year, for instance one or two years ago it was military families. In order to accomodate [sic] all of the people who want to come to the easter egg roll, we stagger the times to ensure maximum enjoyment for everyone."

One ticket recipient who was approximately fifty people behind the Family Pride Coalition, told PageOneQ that he was "upset, very upset, that they would change the policy to make those of us who spent the night be the last ones to get into the event." When asked his name, the man said that, "Because my brother works for the State Department, I'd rather keep my name out of the article."

The Family Pride group, which was located approximately 150 people from the start of the line, received tickets with entry times of 11:30am and later.

Some waiting in line were not upset with the ticketing change. "This means we get to sleep at the hotel later," one teenager was heard saying. Other participants were not as happy. In addition to the first group in line, others who were near the front of the line expressed disappointment over their entry times. "We thought we would wait in line so we could go to the ceremony," said one parent.

When asked about the ticket time issue, Jennifer Chrisler, Family Pride Coalition's Executive Director stayed out of the controversy by telling PageOneQ that, "We're just so happy to be participating in this national event, and we are thrilled to be a part of this national tradition."

The egg roll takes place Monday morning on the White House grounds.

http://pageoneq.com/news/2006/eggroll_041506.html

[/q]

 

[nbcrusader]

Sounds like they should just use a random lottery.

 

[A_Wanderer]

But if they did that then gays would have an equal chance.

 

[the iron horse]

Why not just roll the eggs?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Why not just roll the eggs?

Why do these people have to do this? Maybe that's the real reason why we can't just roll the eggs

SF Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/18/MNGR0IAQL41.DTL&feed=rss.news

Washington -- More than 100 gay and lesbian families, decked out in rain ponchos and rainbow-colored leis, sloshed their way Monday morning onto the soggy South Lawn to take part in a quintessential American family event, the White House Easter Egg Roll.

For their kids, it was a chance to meet the Easter Bunny and scoop eggs across the rain-soaked grass using big plastic spoons. But for the parents, it was a deliberate effort to show that millions of children across America are being raised in homes with two moms or two dads.

"We are making a statement that we are families just like everyone else," said Susan Mathis, an elementary school music teacher from Chevy Chase, Md., who came to the event with her partner and their two children, Lele, 10 and NaNa, 8.

"I look forward to the day when reporters won't have to cover a group of families who just want to bring their kids to the White House so they can roll some Easter eggs," she added.

More than 16,000 people attended the traditional event, but it was the participation by gay and lesbian couples and their children that drew the attention.

President Bush briefly appeared in the morning to blow a whistle and start the first egg roll race, while first lady Laura Bush appeared for photos with children from Gulf Coast states hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Both left the event before the first gay and lesbian families arrived.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Is that Cheney in the bunny suit?

 

[Irvine511]

Both left the event before the first gay and lesbian families arrived.

fucking assholes.

nasty on a personal level, too.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I wonder if that's at all customary for them to leave before the event is over (or if they supposedly had other commitments), I'm sure some sort of statement will be released regarding that. I wonder what other Presidents did or what he has done every other year. I am willling to give them the benefit of the doubt even though it really bugs me that they did that- but let's face it, it looks really bad. Didn't they, or one damn person at the WH, realize how awful that would look?

 

[Irvine511]

I wonder if that's at all customary for them to leave before the event is over (or if they supposedly had other commitments), I'm sure some sort of statement will be released regarding that. I wonder what other Presidents did or what he has done every other year. I am willling to give them the benefit of the doubt even though it really bugs me that they did that- but let's face it, it looks really bad. Didn't they, or one damn person at the WH, realize how awful that would look?

it probably is customary for them to leave before it is over, but it is not customary for them to change their ticketing policy that effectively prevented those who at the front of the line and have been waiting the longest (gay and lesbian families) from attending the opening ceremonies with the President and the first lady.

it was 100% deliberate.

 

[Justin24]

Bush must watch this Everyday? Since he seems so frightned by Homosexuals.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/fifties.html