Candidate Profile: Dick Cheney

Cheney has said that he would support President Bush's proposal for a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage in such a way as to ban same-sex marriage.

This is a reverse from his prior position where he said this was a matter best left to the states.

Leaving it to the states would most likely ultimately lead to a Loving vs. Virginia type conflict, a conflict which most likely would be resolved in favor of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians as analyzed by Richard Harrold, which is probably why Bush is pushing for a more permanent solution. 

"What I said in 2000 was that the question of whether or not some sort of status, legal status or sanction, ought to be granted in the case of a relationship between two individuals of the same sex was historically a matter the states had decided and resolved and that is the way I preferred it."

Cheney's daughter is gay, and not inactive in the gay and lesbian community. I will be interested in hearing what she has to say on this issue, on her father's new position, if anything.

From 2000:

What He Has Said:

"I think states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in that area. I think we ought to do everything we can to tolerate and accommodate whatever kind of relationships people want to enter into."
--- In response to a question regarding constitutional rights for gays and lesbians asked during the Vice-Presidential Debates

What He Has Done:

• In 1988 Dick Cheney was one of only 13 House members to vote against the AIDS Federal Policy Act, which was the first major bill to provide funds for AIDS testing and counseling. Even Dick Armey and Tom DeLay were part of the overwhelming majority to vote for the bill.

• Consistently voted against fair housing legislation.

Additional Information:

Compassionate Conservatism: The Cheneys (and their gay daughter)
How come the new face of conservatism looks a lot like the old face? Not only that, there is not even much of an attempt for these wolves to put on sheeps' clothing. The treatment of and reaction to the Cheneys' gay daughter along with his voting history tells the tale.