Lynne Cheney has gone out on a limb by publicly stating that gay marriage should be left to the states -- thereby distancing herself from the Bush administration's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage nationwide.
The Cheneys, of course, have an openly lesbian daughter in a long-term relationship. Four years ago, then-VP candidate Dick Cheney said that states should decide legal issues about personal relationships and that people should be free to enter relationships of their choosing. But under pressure, this year he's been loyally toeing the Bush line in favor of a constitutional ban.
On Sunday, when asked by CNN about her husband's stand on gay marriage in 2004, Lynne Cheney said:
I thought that the formulation he used in 2000 was very good. First of all, to be clear that people should be free to enter into their relationships that they choose. And, secondly, to recognize what's historically been the situation, that when it comes to conferring legal status on relationships, that is a matter left to the states.
The Senate is expected to vote on the marriage amendment this
week. No matter how carefully she chose her words, Lynne Cheney's
remarks are a rebuke to the President's anti-gay marriage crusade
and may embolden some GOP moderates to break ranks and oppose the
amendment. Her remarks also indicate there may still be some
intelligent life left in the Republican Party when it comes to
social issues.
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