LGBT families get their golden egg at White House Easter Egg Roll

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico


Since 1878, families have participated in the official White House Easter Egg Roll event, but this year another community of families were invited.

Some 30,000 guests were expected to attend the event and this is the first time in Egg Roll history that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families have been invited.

Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, said she was thrilled when she received the invitation from the White House.  

“The outreach on President Obama and First Lady Obama’s behalf to gay and lesbian families was very meaningful and very important symbolism of this White House and its belief that all kinds of families should be valued in this country... We are very, very grateful,” Chrisler said. “We as parents, as gay parents, do all the same things that other parents do. We worry about getting our kids to school safely, about being good participants in our community, paying our taxes and to have a president that actually affirms us as families really helps when we face those hurdles that we face from time to time," Chrisler said.

Cathy Renna, a member of the Family Equality Council, said she has been going to this event for several years but that this year it felt different. The FEC works to ensure equality for LGBT families by building community, changing hearts and minds, and advancing social justice for all families.

“It looked a lot more like America this year,” said Renna. “This represents a shift both symbolically and hopefully in a policy way in the way that will be treated in this country. There’s clearly a tremendous amount of hope that we’ll pass hate crimes legislation, that we’ll pass employment non-discrimination legislation at the federal level.... There’s just a very different sense of dialogue and relationship that we haven’t had in a very long time,” said Renna.

Michelle Obama speaks at the DNC Women's Caucus

A group of high-profile female Democratic politicians gathered to speak at the DNC Women's Caucus. Among these women was Michelle Obama, the wife of Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Also in attendence at the caucus was Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who emphasized Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) negative voting record on issues such as abortion rights and equal pay for women. She stated that he has a "zero-percent voting record in favor of issues important to women." Boxer declared, "[Obama] is a hero, McCain is a zero."

During the caucus, a group of anti-abortion protesters broke into the meeting. Every delegate in attendence stood up and started chanting "Obama."

Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) drew attention to the importance of the female vote in the coming election: DeLauro stated "[women] set the agenda, and [women] make history," referring to the so-called gender gap (in which women are more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate, and influence the election) in the current world of politics .

Mrs. Obama cited the hardships Senator Obama watched his hard-working mother and grandmother endure during his childhood as making him understanding and compassionate about female issues and ideals. She discussed Mr. Obama's legislative plans, such as ending wage discrimination against women and supporting pro-choice legislation.

Michelle Obama Encouraging People to Make a Pledge

Possible first lady to be, Michelle Obama, raised her voice today at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gathering in support of veterans. She joined families and veterans of the Middle Eastern wars to assemble care packages with destinations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Michelle began her speech by encouraging people to commit to the veteran cause and to serve America by supporting soldiers on the front and at home. "You have an obligation to your community," Michelle stated to the crowd of blue t-shirts, "I'm pleased to see all our blue shirt families here today." The blue t-shirts were emblazoned with "SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS" and were worn by the majority of the audience.

"I'm very pleased with Michelle attending this meeting," said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and founder of IAVA, a nonpartisan organization.

Also present was Jill Biden, Senator and Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's wife, supporting the veterans. "I'm honored to have the Biden family on the team," said Michelle Obama expressing her happiness that they both share the interest of improving the community service and the situation for veterans all over America. Michelle also announced her happiness that her husband, Barack Obama, wants to focus on these issues

Michelle Obama says voting is the “solemn responsibility” of African American citizens

During a conference call held to kickoff the Obama campaign's nationwide voter registration efforts in African American communities, Michelle Obama, wife of presumptive nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), talked about the importance of voting in African American communities. She explained that over 26 million African Americans are eligible to vote, yet 32 percent, about eight million of them, are not registered.

Mrs. Obama said that her father loved educating people on the rights and responsibilities of voting, and she is very grateful to him for teaching her the value of voting at a young age. Mrs. Obama explained that the American people are finally challenging one another to talk about the world and they are finally realizing the opportunities and possibilities of the future. She said she loves seeing the "outpouring of new voters," and is urging everyone across the country to register and vote this coming November. Mrs. Obama said she is "voting for her daughters," to "honor her father's past," and "for future generations."

Mrs. Obama explained that throughout the primary season, the Obama campaign registered more than half a million voters. She encouraged all Americans to “cast their ballots for change” in the spirit of Barack Obama’s vision to “narrow the gap between the world as it is, and the world as it should be.”

Michelle Obama sympathizes with women and families

The National Partnership for Women and Families held its annual luncheon to celebrate its accomplishments over the past year and address the issues it still faces. Michelle Obama and Deval Patrick spoke at the luncheon. Debra Ness, president of the Partnership, said that the Partnership helped to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act this year. She is very optimistic for more progress, despite so many more challenges. She said that women can still be fired over pregnancies and that nearly half of all private sector workers do not get paid sick leave.

Michelle Obama said that she understands the plights of women and families today. She has met with women who are scared of not being able to pay for food, scared to take time off for sickness, and scared of being fired for pregnancies. She said that the National Partnership for Women and Families has been an advocate and a leader when it comes to these issues.

At the luncheon, the Partnership honored Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts. Patrick listed his grievances with the policies of the current Presidential administration. With the success of Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), he said that he believes people once again believe in their abilities to make change.