DAVENPORT, Iowa, August 25, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney announced his opposition to President George W. Bush’s push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex “marriage” Tuesday.
In comments made at a campaign rally, Cheney, whose daughter Mary is lesbian, said, “People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to,” according to an ABC News report.
Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released a statement in response to Cheney’s remarks: “In preparation for the debates over the Republican Platform this week, Family Research Council staff members have been working diligently with other pro-family allies to formulate language and amendments on a variety of issues, from marriage and the pro-life plank to embryonic stem cell research.
“Unfortunately protection of our values is made more difficult when mixed messages emanate from the White House. We support President Bush’s commitment to a constitutional amendment on marriage but we are left to wonder why the Vice President is allowed to depart from this position when the top of the ticket is unified on all other issues. I find it hard to believe the Vice President would stray from the administration’s position on defense policy or tax policy. For many pro-family voters, protecting traditional marriage ranks ahead of the economy and job creation as a campaign issue.
“The definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is the bedrock of society and should be addressed in a unified manner just as all other issues will be during the convention. If the Vice President perceives the problem of activist judges and their actions, as he stated in his remarks, then how can he not endorse the same solution the President and his pro-family allies have proposed? We urge Vice President Cheney to support President Bush and a constitutional amendment on marriage.”
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