Gay, lesbian parents to line up for Easter Egg Roll tickets
The White House Easter Egg Roll has been a Washington tradition since the mid-19th century.
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.
Really, Mrs. First Lady? All families?
[...] 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 egg roll has been a Washington tradition since the mid-19th century. Children use spoons to push colored eggs through the grass in a race. Past events have included petting zoos and White House staff members in bunny costumes.
The president sometimes makes a brief appearance, and the first lady often reads a story. The White House has not announced plans for this year.
Something tells me that if the lawn is populated with gay families, George and Laura will find themselves otherwise occupied. Afraid of the gays or afraid of their base—it's all the same—they are chickenshits.
But good for the families making a statement. If coming out into broad daylight and enjoying something everyone else can do should be considered making a statement...
UPDATE: Well I was prepared to offer Bush some credit for showing up with Laura to kick off the Egg Roll, even posing for pictures, but it might be premature to do so. It seems the Bushes were long gone before the gay and lesbian families were allowed in. Despite getting the first tickets and waiting the longest, those families were given tickets for admission 11:00 a.m. — hours after the opening ceremony the Bushes attended. I'll find out more and get some links later...
2 comments:
Well said, Mr. F. What a shame an event like this would qualify for making some kind of political statement.
That big White House and its lawn belong as much to gay and lesbian Americans as it belongs to everyone else; they're part of the American family. Literally.
What's more, they fight and die in our wars, pay their taxes and everything else.
A chance to see a bunch of kids and their families out having fun on the lawn should be a treat for Bush. If he's a no show, the loss is his.
My wife thinks he'll show up, I say "not."
At least not while it's overwhelmingly gay families...
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