WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday he supports gays being able to marry but believes states, not the federal government, should make the decision.
"I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone," Cheney said in a speech at the National Press Club. "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish."
Cheney, who has a gay daughter, said marriage has always been a state issue.
"And I think that's the way it ought to be handled today, that is, on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions. But I don't have any problem with that. I think people ought to get a shot at that," he said.
Cheney spent most of his speech, and during the questions and answers that followed, defending the Bush administration's wartime policies.
Damn! An actual public statement from a Conservative Republican supporting Same-Sex Marriage!
Lets watch it!
Cheney has been silent for years about this subject - refusing to answer any questions about Gays during the 2004 debate with John Kerry!
I'm doing a double take ... lets hear that again:
I think that freedom means freedom for everyone," replied the former V.P. "As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish. The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute to protect this, I don't support. I do believe that the historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level. It has always been a state issue and I think that is the way it ought to be handled, on a state-by-state basis. ... But I don't have any problem with that. People ought to get a shot at that.Oh gee! Does this make Cheney more progressive than Obama??
Cheney has something that most Conservatives don't have to deal with - a close gay family member - his daughter.
Having a gay family member who is out and in a relationship with someone of the same sex does force a Conservative Politician to think differently than what most of his fellow peers would think. If she was in the closet - or seeking help from an ex-gay ministry - his support would probably be non-existant!
However, I'm treading lightly with anything coming out of Cheney's mouth that is in support of the Left!
I'm now waiting to hear outcries and denouncement from the Evangelical Right!
