Family Pride

Gay Families Prepare For White House Egg Rollby 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: April 3, 2007 - 1:00 pm ET
(Washington) More than one hundred gay and lesbian families have signed up to take part in this year's annual White House Easter Egg Roll - twice the number that had signed on this time last year.
The annual event on the White House lawn is open to the public.
Thousands of tickets - an estimated 16,000 last year - are given away on a first-come-first-come basis beginning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
National Park Service officials said 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.
Last year Family Pride, a national organization that advocates for gay families encouraged gay and lesbian parents to bring their kids to the Roll. About 50 families signed up on the Family Pride website and more than 100 showed up for tickets.
Wearing rainbow-colored leis as a unifying symbol they joined the thousands of other families whose children searched for eggs hidden on the grounds, despite a driving rain.
Publicity surrounding last year's Roll angered social conservatives pushing for a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, calling it a publicity stunt and a protest.
But Family Pride maintained it was not a protest - there were no signs and no chants - just the rainbow leis.
First lady Laura Bush's office issued a statement to quell the conservative protest saying all families are welcome to attend.
Mrs. Bush and the President posed for pictures - but only with the families of White House staff.
By the time the gay and other families got in the President and First Lady had left in what was seen as a move to avoid having their pictures taken with gay families.
This year a Family Pride contingent will begin standing in line Friday night at 7:00 pm in order to secure early tickets to participate in the Roll.
"We believe that by participating fully and openly in time honored traditions like the Egg Roll we can help the American public come to know our families," the group said in a statement.
"Last year’s Egg Roll was an amazing time and, for one weekend, this country was introduced to our families on a grand scale. And in addition to educating people about our lives, we had a great time rolling eggs, meeting amazing children’s characters and participating in a wonderful family celebration."
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.