PROVING that even the most innocuous events in Washington struggle to escape the venom of US politics, hundreds of gay and lesbian parents and their children will attend the annual White House Easter Egg Roll this weekend. Marking a first for the 130-year-old Easter egg hunt on the South Lawn, the gay families will be among 16,000 others who will attend the free event, as a form of “positive” protest.

In a move that has appalled religious conservatives, who accuse the gay families of “crashing” the event, the homosexual couples say that they are attending to highlight their claim that nine million children are being raised in the US by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered parents.

Among the Easter Bunny, Sesame Street characters, music and 14,200 painted eggs, the gay families say that they will wear rainbow-hued floral bands around their necks to identify themselves. Tickets are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.

“For crying out loud — at the Easter Egg Roll? This is a family event,” Andrea Lafferty, the executive director of Traditional Values Coalition, told The New York Times. She said that it was “very distasteful” to politicise the event and to use children to do so.

During his 2004 re-election campaign President Bush backed calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He has done little to push the amendment during his second term. Laura Bush, the First Lady, remained above the fray. “All families are welcome,” her spokeswoman said.

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