Gay parents' Easter egg roll plans draw criticism

[ruggerson]

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060312/POLITICS/603120400/1022

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Gay parents' Easter egg roll plans draw criticism

'Celebration' at White House honors 9M kids raised by same-sex pairs; others call it politicizing.

Lisa Hoffman / Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON -- Almost every Easter Monday for nearly 130 years, thousands of kids in their Sunday best have cavorted around the National Back Yard, rolling Easter eggs and collecting goodies on the lush expanse of the White House's South Lawn.

If this conjures up images of an island of innocence where partisan rancor and ideological war are locked outside the gates for at least one day, think again.

This is Washington, where, apparently, even the White House Easter Egg Roll is not immune to politics.

On April 17, hundreds of gay and lesbian parents and their children intend to be among the 16,000 or so others who attend the free event. Organizers say their purpose is to celebrate the fact that an estimated 9 million children are being raised in the United States by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents.

[madrchsod]

1. "gay chickens"?

what`s the problem--it`s supposed to be for the kids not the parents.

[tocqueville]

2. OMFG gay rabbits reproducing everywhere !

what has the world come to ?

[boobooday]

3. Okay, so it is "politicizing" to allow these children to participate

But not to exclude them?

Typical bullshit gratuitous meanness.

[Richard Steele]

6. Yup. How dare those people attend a public event!

That's really what it comes down to with these hateful bigots.
They are UPSET that GLBT folks are able
to go about their day-to-day lives just like anyone else.

In their psychotically twisted logic, "reminding me that you exist is an attack on my values";
frankly, I don't see much hope for anyone that insane.

[boobooday]

7. It is tragically creepy

How their hysterical homophobia makes them look so sexually insecure. And their blathering outrage when their children are subjected to different political viewpoints from their own reveals a deep moral and political insecurity. The temptations of truth, of unrepressed joyous human congress are just too much!

All this insecurity just builds up inside until it makes them want to :nuke:

[JerseygirlCT]

8. That's a perfect way to put it.

I'll have to remember that one.

"reminding me that you exist is an attack on my values"

[leQ]

9. wow, that was so aptly put, i made it my Quote of the Day - thanks! (eom)

[WePurrsevere]

4. Their children have as much a right to be there as any others. Families

are families.. love is love... all should be celebrated during this joy filled celebration of rebirth and fertility.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. A loving parent is a loving parent regardless of gender or sexual

identity and their children should not be discriminated against because of someone else's ignorance, bias or intolerance. By all means, let all children participate.

Having said that, I hope that all of the parents present realize that this is a children's event and let everyone enjoy it as that and save the political rhetoric and discussion for a political occasion. It would be very easy for the children attending the event to become unwilling pawns in a battle that they did not choose. If they are all concerned about being good parents, they will put the feelings of their children first.

[CatholicEdHead]

14. Exactly, you have to look at the entire person

homosexual parents will be just as suited or not as suited to be parents on the same things heterosexual parents are judged on.

[Trillo]

10. Isn't Easter a secular holiday?

We used to have do something for Easter in public school, don't remember precisely what, if I remember correctly, we colored eggs or some such thing. It never struck me with any religious significance whatsoever, but we were trained to note it was a special day to be observed by everyone.

[Trillo]

16. As I got much older, and looked at what Easter was about, and

I ran across information that claimed it was a Pagan 'celebration of fertility' ritual. Therefore, I have concluded that Easter is about promoting heterosexuality over other sexualities. What religion should have any right to invade itself that much into people's most private activity, so private in fact that it's prohibited from being displayed publicly under legal threat of punishment?

It seems that the promotion of heterosexuality by religions has gown old and reeks of death, given the overpopulation of the world now.

But rituals have an odd cultural way of perpetuating themselves, and Christians who have usurped others rituals seem to have no shame in their own perversions. Face it, sex is stinky, sweaty, and dirty no matter how it's rationalized, even when it's between only "a man and a woman".

But oh, those sqeaky clean Christians and their institutionalized hypocrisy, that's another stench that needs sterilization.

[CatholicEdHead]

17. Yes, it has Pagan roots

"No one knows the origin of the name Easter but some suspect that it derived from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom people dedicated a month corresponding to April. People celebrated her festival on the day of the vernal equinox. The tradition of Eastre survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. Even the early Egyptians and Persians dyed eggs in spring colors and gave them to friends.

Ancient religions commonly held such festivals including the Greek legend of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day. Her return symbolized to the Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter."

http://www.nobeliefs.com/facts.htm

[Trillo]

18. Whose Agenda?

Traditional Values Coalition allegedly said:

"For crying out loud, at the Easter egg roll? This is a family event," said exasperated executive director Andrea Lafferty, who called it "very distasteful" and inappropriate to politicize the occasion and to use children to do so.

To her and those who share her view, this is just another example of homosexuals trying to force themselves and their agenda on Americans.

NO, Christians. Easter is about heterosexuals forcing themselves and their population agenda and religious perversion and evangalizing on Americans, their children, and in fact, the whole world.

Why does society keep promoting these incompetents to various positions such as executive this and Executive that?

[CatholicEdHead]

19. They push this book as a big graphic in the middle of their home page

http://www.traditionalvalues.org/theagenda.php

Lots of tolerance there. :sarcasm:
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/

:puke:

[ninkasi]

20. I'm sick of that phrase

From Simple Trend's post, quoting Traditional Values Coalition

"To her and those who share her view, this is just another example of homosexuals trying to force themselves and their agenda on Americans."

The Traditional Values Coalition is supposed to have used that phrase. I'm so sick and tired of hearing narrow minded bigots blather on about some so-called "gay agenda." I believe that what gay and lesbian couples want is to have the same rights as anybody else. They are not trying to "convert" hetero people, nor are they asking for special privileges. They just want to not be discriminated against.

How are gays "forcing" themselves on Americans, other than having the desire to live in peace, and not be subject to being treated as less than any other person in the country? The homophobes really just want to ban homosexuality entirely, because they consider it immoral. They just don't get that they have no right to inflict their own prejudices on other people.

[undeterred]

11. what a frightening and radical agenda these homosexuals have-

getting married and raising children :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Placebo]

12. Truly shocking.

Marrying and adopting children who need a home is just sick. SICK.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. 9 million raised by GLBT parents?

That seems a lot to me - in the 2000 census, 25% of 293 million Americans, or about 75 million, were under 18. Are more than 1 in 9 children really being raised by GLBT parents?

[Solon]

24. It could be possible, though seems a little high...

But, I would say that a gay couple, whether male or female, is more likely to adopt children than a heterosexual couple of the same age. Many placement agencies in most states only really care about stable homes as a matter of course, and ANY couple in a stable relationship should qualify. I really don't understand what people object to when gay couples adopt, why should it matter, what's best for the kids is NOT going from foster home to foster home for the first 16-18 years of their lives, but to be put in a home where they are loved and even better, feel safe.

[HuffleClaw]

15. "For crying out loud, at the Easter egg roll? This is a family event,"

erm, gays have FAMILIES, just like everyone else. geeze, though i wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if these gay families are turned away before they ever get on the white house grounds.

[ismnotwasm]

21. So say I'm a child of Gay parents

And I live in DC. My friends are going. I'm looking forward to going. My parents, depending on my age, have explained thier love and committment to each other, and probably how some people don't alway agree with that love and committment. (or some such words you use with children)

Then (assholes) like this want to keep ME away. ME the important one, the one who is going to have fun with my friends, chasing eggs, and winning prizes. Me, the bridge-builder, the hope of the future. I don't have an agenda, I just want to go hunt Easter eggs with my friends, and my mommies or my daddies.

These idiots are the ones politicizing. Traditional Values Coalition my ass. And politicizing in the most vile, disgusting fashion possible.

These parents and children are just showing up to celebrate and to say "Here I Am"

[sofa king]

22. And the eggs the kids search for are unfertilized.

[serryjw]

23. Bushit invited the gay parents

so after the celebration he can explain that he is supporting the ban on Gay adoption across the country...fucken hypocrite