The White House is planning its annual Easter egg roll, an event for the general public that is designed to spread good will. The big day is still months away, but plans are very much in the works, and there is already hot debate over who will be attending.
Or, more specifically, who should be attending.
According to a Friday Associated Press article, there has been heated debate over the campaign by The Family Pride Coalition (FPC) to have hundreds of gay and lesbian families turn up at the event with their children.
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Soulforce, which is a national interfaith group, are also supporting the visibility event.
The FPC hopes the act will be viewed as a statement of good will, as well as an example of how well gay and lesbian families can function.
As FPC executive director Jennifer Chrisler put it, "It's important for our families to be seen participating in all aspects of American life."
Let's be clear on this: The FPC and its families are playing nice. They want to attend the event, have fun, show their kids being happy and well-adjusted, then go home with a nice warm glow.
The organization has stated it is trying to uphold the values of a happy American family.
It's difficult to get any more non-confrontational without being dead - not that it matters.
Conservative detractors have already condemned the plans, accusing the families of trying to "crash" the event and turn it into a platform for their ideals.
Many people have stood against the idea on non-sexual grounds. For instance, Mark Tooley of the Institute on Religion and Democracy wrote in a Tuesday article for Weekly Standard magazine that, "It's improper to use the egg roll for political purposes."
According to Chrisler, however, Tooley's article has received "a flood of hate-filled, venomous messages telling us that our families aren't welcome."
Just in case you had any illusions about the world being a more accepting place this year, now you know the truth.
Most interesting to note is the twisting and turning of White House spokespeople regarding their stance on the planned attendance.
When spokesman Scott McClellan was asked Wednesday at a White House briefing whether president Bush would try to keep any gay or lesbian couples from attending the event, he responded with: "This event is a time to celebrate Easter and to have a good family celebration here at the White House. In terms of other details about it, I think it's still a few months off, so we'll talk about it as we get closer."
McClellan has no intention of being the first person to tell the families to go away, but it seems unlikely the president, or anyone else in the White House, will welcome them with open arms -¡- or welcome them at all, for that matter.
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