Mary Cheney: Republicans are trying to prove they are the most anti-gay marriage
Mary Cheney has written a column accusing Republican presidential candidates of attempting to show who is the biggest opponent of same-sex marriage.
Rick Perry was the latest Republican to announce his bid to become President. He previously compared homosexuality to alcoholism.
Cheney wrote the column for Fox News on Monday, staying that Republican candidates were trying to see “who can be the most stalwart defender of ‘traditional marriage’ – who can most effectively stoke the unfounded fears of the far right.”
She said GOP candidates “regularly throw around phrases like religious freedom and religious liberty, warn that marriage equality will lead to the criminalization of Christianity or the downfall of the American family, and fret that our nation’s very future is at risk.”
“Let’s be clear. The fight over marriage equality isn’t about religious freedom or the criminalization of Christianity,” she continued.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, went on to say that the Supreme Court’s ruling would not change the fact that some states had carried out civil marriages, even if the church did not approve.
She also said opinions on same-sex marriage were rapidly changing in favour.
“Regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court decides this term, the American Public is already on the side of marriage equality. Should the Court oppose the expansion of the freedom to marry to all fifty states, millions of Americans will be disappointed, but progress will continue to be made. It will just take a bit longer.”
She said, rather than attempting to oppose same-sex marriage, the Republican Party should be figuring out how it would handle LGBT rights going ahead.
“The Republican Party has always claimed to be in favor of certain key principles including, support for individual liberty, personal responsibility and the belief that strong families are the corner stone of our society,” she said. “This is exactly why more leaders of the party should embrace the idea of marriage equality.”
Arguing for same-sex marriage, she said more marriages would “increase relationship stability, strengthen families and provide legal protections for children growing up in same-sex families – all of which are goals in keeping with the principles of the Republican Party.”
“For years I have listened while Republican candidates talked about the importance of family and the need for our country to support strong families,” she declared.
“I whole-heartedly agree. We do need to support families, but that means supporting all families – regardless of which state they live in, how they look or how they are made.”
Others in the Republican presidential race are Ben Carson, who made jokes about poisoning gay wedding cakes, and Rick Santorum who is one of the most consistently anti-gay politicians in the US.
