Mary Cheney, youngest daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and sister of Republican Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, has spoken out after her sister publicly recanted her opposition to gay marriage.
Cheney, who is a lesbian and has been married to her wife Heather Poe since 2012, took to Facebook to issue a heartfelt response to her sister's recent comments that she regrets the anti-LGBTQ stances she took during her failed 2013 Senate run.
Kind and thoughtful as her response was, Mary Cheney couldn't help but append a good-natured dig at her sister at the end of it all, and it's got people on the internet cheering her on.
See her response below.
Of her sister's comments, Mary Cheney's wrote:
"I love my sister very much and am so proud of her. It took a ton of courage to admit that she was wrong back in 2013 when she opposed marriage equality. That is something few politicians would ever do..."
"...We could certainly use a lot more leaders like Liz Cheney right now."
Cheney then closed her statement with a subtle drag of her sister.
"And as her sister – I have one more thing that I just have to say"
"I told you so."
An instantly relatable roast for any LGBTQ+ person who's ever had to deal with anti-LGBTQ+ relative.
Cheney's dig at her sister may have all been in good fun, but GOP Representative Cheney's former stance against same-sex marriage was no laughing matter back in 2013. She faced waves of criticism at the time from those on both sides of the political aisle.
It struck many as a cruel public denial of her sister's identity nearly a decade after even her father, who was Vice President to anti-LGBTQ+ President George W. Bush, had publicly spoken in support of same-sex marriage.
Liz Cheney spoke out about all of this during an interview with 60 Minutes this past weekend.
Cheney told reporter Leslie Stahl:
"I was wrong. I love my sister very much. I love her family very much... It's a very personal issue, and very personal for my family. I believe that my dad was right. And my sister and I have had that conversation."
"We need to work against discrimination of all kinds … Freedom means freedom for everybody."
On social media, people gave kudos for Mary Cheney's response.
This is an adorable and graceful response from Mary Cheneyhttps://twitter.com/KevinBohn/status/1442300049703198721\u00a0\u2026— Tiana Lowe (@Tiana Lowe) 1632862031
She earned that gloat— Jen & Judy\u2019s Dirty Shovel (@Jen & Judy\u2019s Dirty Shovel) 1632707067
So much respect for Mary Cheney who took the hard but honest and fulfilling path by living out and proud. This is how hearts and minds are won. Liz Cheney out there talking about Transgender rights now! Crazy what happens when you don\u2019t have to pander to the fringe. @Liz_Cheneyhttps://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1442272844197494786\u00a0\u2026— Adam Day (@Adam Day) 1632727776
But not everyone was impressed with Liz Cheney.
For many, her change of heart rang of hollow opportunism, especially given many of her other deeply conservative stances and her voting record on LGBTQ+ equality.
If only she'd added, "Liz was as wrong about marriage equality as she is about abortion rights and gun control..."— Kathleen Hamilton (@Kathleen Hamilton) 1632709230
It serves her agenda to \u201cregret it\u201d now.— ChristineMoreSo (@ChristineMoreSo) 1632708728
She voted against the equality act\u2026come on— Banks (@Banks) 1632708654
Never listen to people's words, always watch their actions. Actions are what people should be judged by. watch and you will see.— Yerry (@Yerry) 1632753856
Compassionate fascism— Ryan Zeskey (@Ryan Zeskey) 1632751106
Liz Cheney apologizes for opposing same-sex marriage.\nNow we want an apology for every vote she ever made while supporting \nThe Bush & Trump agendas.\nHow bout voting rights\nGun control\nImmigration \n#CheneyIsAFraud\n\nhttps://www.thedailybeast.com/mary-cheney-im-proud-of-my-sister-liz-for-admitting-she-was-wrong-about-same-sex-marriage?source=twitter&via=mobile\u00a0\u2026 via @thedailybeast— Nic #VetsResist\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 #SaveOurPlanet (@Nic #VetsResist\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 #SaveOurPlanet) 1632759709
Mary Cheney has been publicly gay for 29 years.\n\nDick Cheney has publicly supported gay marriage for 17 years\n\nGay marriage has been legal for 6 years.\n\nCaring what Liz Cheney has to say about it in 2021 is a word I'd get my account flagged for using— Rom Space Nine (@Rom Space Nine) 1632710873
Cheney may support same-sex marriage now, but she still apparently opposes other aspects of LGBTQ+ equality.
Earlier this year, she joined the majority of her fellow Republicans in voting against the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include prohibitions of discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
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