LGBT Families at the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll

Earlier this week, thousands of families gathered for the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll – including LGBT families from as far away as Utah and as nearby as Maryland.  Here’s what some of them had to say:

“This event was truly a monumental moment for my partner and myself.  This was an event for my boy that he will never forget.  The excitement that he expressed throughout the day was priceless!”

“Just spending the day with my partner and seeing that smile on my boy's face was my highlight.  This was truly a family oriented event that focused on keeping active, exercising, and eating healthy.”

“To play with our twins on the White House lawn -- the quintessential American family experience. Thank you to the Obamas for opening their home to us.”

“It was an incredible opportunity for my children to see first hand that our President values the diversity of American families. I believe that in years to come, they will look back on this day as one of the most memorable of their childhood.”

“The Egg Roll was a blast! We were up early in the first group and it was great to be another happy family among thousands of happy families.  We met families of all shapes, sizes, and colors while waiting.  There was no difference, though, in the love, affection, and excitement as we waited in line and took in the sensation of stepping onto the South Lawn.”

“It was fun to see the parents' competitive sides come out during the Easter Egg Roll with each family not so subtly encouraging their daughters to ‘win!’ In the end, it was all fun and games.”

This year, we were especially honored to have several gay and lesbian military families join us for the Egg Roll.  Marie, Liz, and Betsy are a U.S. Army Family who shared the following reflections with us:

“We have so appreciated this great opportunity! We felt today was a great experience in many ways, but  was especially poignant because for the first time, our military family  was able to participate just like any other family, which may seem simplistic, but truly means a lot to us, and especially to our daughter.  Betsy marveled at all of the different characters who were present and especially enjoyed the ‘fairy lady.’  She liked listening to Corey Simpson, and enjoyed the craft tables, cooking demos, and the farmers' market.  She will eagerly share some quickly printed off photos for sharing tomorrow morning in First Grade!  Liz and I enjoyed seeing the White House and the expansive grounds up close for the first time, which are absolutely gorgeous.”

Check out a photo gallery of LGBT moms, dads, and kids at the Egg Roll:

Gautam Raghavan is an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement.