Gay Rights Crowd Targets . . . White House Easter Egg Roll?

I’m not kidding. And I promise I’ll try to refrain from salacious humor.

Anyway, I received this press release from the respected Institute of Religion and Democracy (IRD) yesterday:

NEWS ALERT: PRO-HOMOSEXUALITY ‘SOULFORCE’ TO CRASH WHITE HOUSE
EASTER EGG ROLL

Thursday, January 12,2006: Soulforce, in coalition with other groups advocating acceptance of homosexual practice within Christian churches, is planning to crash the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

“On April 17, 2006, when the White House lawn is opened to families for the Annual Easter Egg Roll, imagine if the first 1,000 families onto the lawn were LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] families,” enthused an e-mail alert from Soulforce.

“LGBT” participants are being urged to gather at the White House gate the night before so as to be the first to enter the next morning. They will also arrive with special t-shirts to identify themselves as “LGBT.”

The White House Easter egg roll dates back to the years after the Civil War and has become a venerated event. Besides thousands of children and parents, the roll often includes prominent entertainers, the Easter Bunny, and sometimes the President and First Lady.

Soulforce, in cooperation with other pro-homosexuality caucus groups, such a the “Reconciling” group for United Methodists, is asking same-sex couples and other non-traditional families to bring their children to the White House so as to expose America to “LGBT” families.

“The media will be there (they are always there for the egg roll) and millions of Americans – many for the first time – will meet our families,” the Soulforce e-mail reported. “This is an amazing opportunity to reach homes in blue states and red states with positive images of our families participating in this great American family tradition.”

Soulforce went on to promise: “This event will be like nothing anyone has ever seen before. The White House lawn – the Bush White House lawn – will, quite unexpectedly, be filled with gay and lesbian families. This is something people will be talking about for a long time, an event that will make history!”

According to Soulforce, “It is time to claim our place at the table. Come to our nation's capital and let America see who we really are.” Soulforce promised: “It is basically going to be the biggest LGBT family party ever, you and your kids will have a great time.

Recipients of the Soulforce e-mail were asked to be “discreet” and not to post the information on websites because the “success of this action depends on keeping it under the radar of the media and the administration!!!”

Over the years Soulforce has become well known for its disruptive demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience at church conventions. Other sponsors of this effort to target the White House Easter egg roll include: the Metropolitan Community Church, PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), Love Makes a Family, BLGT Office of the Unitarian Universalists, and the unofficial Reconciling Ministries Network within the United Methodist Church.

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Soulforce went on to promise: This event will be like nothing anyone has ever seen before.

No. No. I promised to refrain from salacious humor.

But seriously, a problem I have with the gay rights crowd is their lack of respect for others and their consciences. The Easter Egg Roll is not a big event for me. But even I know that event is not the time for grandstanding on pet issues.

To bring it closer to home, I’ve seen good men who can’t spend much time with their children because their ex-wives don’t abide by custody agreements and get away with it. I feel very strongly about that issue, and it’s certainly family related. But I wouldn’t dream of using the White House Easter Egg Roll as an opportunity to create a grandstanding stunt on even that worthy issue. It would be inappropriate and disrespectful.

If you want respect – and the gay rights crowd seems to DEMAND respect – then respect others. That’s pretty basic, but some don’t seem to get it.