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That’s right, gay moms and dads and their children are invited to attend the White House Egg Roll.

Representatives from Family Equality Council, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other groups confirmed they were invited and encouraged to have their members participate.

“The Obama administration actually reached out to us as an organization, and said we want gay families there, and they are an important part of the American family fabric,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Boston-based Family Equality Council, which is helping spearhead the effort to organize families to attend.

In the very recent past, things were a bit different.

In 2006 during the Bush administration, more than 100 gay families attended the egg roll in part to make the statement that they should be welcome. Some conservatives accused gays and lesbians of trying to “crash” the event and turn it into forum for ideological politicking.

"The president of the United States understands that we're just another family like anybody else," said Kim Bergman of Los Angeles, who traveled to Washington with her partner, Natalie Bergman, and their two daughters Abby, 13, and Jenna, 10.

"He gets that this country is not all one type of person. We're just part of the fabric of the country and we just love that the fabric is patchwork."

When asked what most excited her about attending the egg roll, Abby said, "the feeling that Obama actually wants us here."

Representatives from Family Equality Council, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other groups confirmed earlier that they were invited and encouraged to have their members participate.

The White also made tickets available on the Internet and through the offices of Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

This is what happens when the government picks winners and losers: big unions
walk away with GM and small investors get thrown by the wayside. Sooner or
later, we’re going to have to return to some kind of normal economic activity,
and when that happens we will need investors, large and small, to feel it’s
worthwhile getting back into the market. Deals like this one are going to make
that awfully difficult.

During a visit to Baghdad last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told
reporters the spike in attacks in not an indication that Iraq is regressing. She
said she and Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander here, agree that
the uptick in bombings shouldn't change American plans for withdrawal.