posted on July 12, 2004 06:03:49 AM new
WASHINGTON -- Lynne Cheney, the wife of the vice president and the mother of a lesbian, said Sunday that states should have the final say on the legal status of personal relationships.
That stand puts her at odds with the vice president on the need for the constitutional amendment being debated in the Senate that effectively would ban gay marriage.
"I think that the constitutional amendment discussion will give us an opportunity to look for ways to discuss ways in which we can keep the authority of the states intact," Lynne Cheney told CNN's "Late Edition."
The Senate began debate Friday on an amendment that defines marriage as a union of a man and woman.
The Cheneys have two daughters. Both work for the Bush-Cheney campaign. The Cheneys' daughter Mary is gay. She is director of vice presidential operations for thecampaign.
President Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday that legalizing same-sex marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization. A constitutional amendment is needed to protect marriage, he said.
During the 2000 campaign, Dick Cheney, now the vice president, said states should decide legal issues about personal relationships and people should be free to enter relationships of their choosing.
Bush and Cheney have voiced their support this year for the proposed constitutional amendment. Their Democratic rivals, Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, oppose the amendment. The Democrats say they oppose gay marriage, but defend a gay couple's rights to the same legal protections as those conferred in marriage.
Asked Sunday about her husband's stand on homosexual 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," she said.
Lynne Cheney said the situation in 2004 is somewhat different from the one four years ago because Massachusetts' highest court has ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to marry.
The vice president's press office had no comment Sunday.
Let's have a BBQ, Texas style, ROAST BUSH
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All Things Just Keep Getting Better
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We the people, in order to form a more perfect Union....
.....one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for ALL.
posted on July 12, 2004 06:56:39 AM new
I am all for the states handling this, if the homosexuals would let them, they will not and will force states that do not want to to recognize homosexual marriages.
38 states right now have in place laws to NOT recognize same sex marriages... will the homosexual agenda let them keep their say?
posted on July 12, 2004 09:28:34 AM new
The states are handling the issue. Massachusetts has issued a ruling on this matter. The ruling however doesn't agree with your views so you are calling it a travesty. The mayor of San Francisco did not like the ruling so he took matters into his own hands. While I do not agree with the method, I do feel people have a right to challenge the legality of the law.
What are you going to do if the Supreme Court declares the DOMA as being unconstitutional?
Let's have a BBQ, Texas style, ROAST BUSH
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All Things Just Keep Getting Better
------------------------------
We the people, in order to form a more perfect Union....
.....one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for ALL.
posted on July 12, 2004 09:33:50 AM new
I dont see how it can be a state issue. What happens when people move and one is either recognized or not recognized by different states? What about federal taxes then?
posted on July 12, 2004 09:52:39 AM new
Neroter, that will be the next issue that would need to be dealt with. There already has been a lawsuit filed for those people that got married in Mass and then moved to another state. They want their new state to recognize their marriage.
Let's have a BBQ, Texas style, ROAST BUSH
------------------------------
All Things Just Keep Getting Better
------------------------------
We the people, in order to form a more perfect Union....
.....one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for ALL.
