f Mary Cheney were Al Gore's daughter rather than Dick Cheney's, her sexual orientation would not be news. If she were planning on campaigning for her father Al, rather than her father Dick, she would be working for a Democrat, and a political party offering solid support for the dignity of gay Americans. There would be some mild interest in the first openly gay child of a candidate for president, but basically the story would be a nonstarter.
Mary Cheney is news not because she is gay but because she is gay and the daughter of the Republican candidate for vice president. This is newsworthy because the GOP platform and the candidates for the two top offices have a history of hostility toward gay Americans.
During the fight for equality for gay men and women in the military, Dick Cheney, both as defense secretary and later during congressional hearings, went on record as favoring an open ban on gays. It must be difficult for a daughter to acknowledge that her father favored discrimination toward her if she desired a career in the military.
While George W. Bush has a far more extensive record on gay rights than Dick Cheney, it's doubtful his positions will make Mary any more comfortable. Bush is on record opposing workplace antidiscrimination laws, supporting a ban on gay adoptions, and saying he wouldn't allow gays to serve openly in the military. In May, he killed the Texas hate crime law because it included sexual orientation. Late last year he told a Washington Post reporter he would abolish the White House liaison post to the gay and lesbian community established by President Clinton.
The Republican platform declares ''homosexuality is incompatible with military service'' and says ''we do not believe sexual preference'' - preference is used instead of orientation to diminish the intrinsic nature of sexuality - ''should be given special legal protection or standing in law.'' There is also repeated inclusion of language reflecting Republican opposition to ''the gay lifestyle,'' another expression the right wing uses as a tool to belittle a movement for equality. Mary Cheney would no doubt be far more comfortable with the language of the Democratic Party platform. In addition to rejecting all discrimination in the military, the Democrats call for the ''full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of the nation'' with ''an equitable alignment of benefits.''
David Smith, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay advocacy group, has said the election of George W. Bush ''would be devastating to our issues and set us back for a long time.'' Given the record of both her father and Bush, Mary Cheney might have a difficult time resolving in her mind the issues of family loyalty and self-respect. Unless her presence becomes a catalyst for tremendous reversals in the Bush-Cheney attitude toward gay people and issues, she runs the risk of being labeled a collaborator with the enemy.
A couple of ominous signs have already appeared as to how the Bush-Cheney campaign will treat Mary. Time Magazine wrote that while the campaign was happy to inform reporters that Cheney daughter Elizabeth was married with three children, inquiries about Mary did not include mention of Mary's partner Heather and their home outside of Denver. Rather, they were told the campaign wouldn't discuss it. And on a recent Sunday ABC news program, when Cokie Roberts clumsily asked Lynne Cheney to talk about her gay daughter, saying, ''you have a daughter who has now declared that she is openly gay,'' Lynne Cheney responded that ''Mary has never declared such a thing.'' She went on to say how appalled she was at the media interest in one of her daughters, and faulted Roberts for bringing this up on the program.
The embarrassment and shame projected during the campaign interview with Time and Lynne Cheney's interview with Cokie Roberts do not bode well for those watching to see if the ticket moves beyond the antigay positions and rhetoric both men have espoused in the past. For the Cheneys to send a message that they are ashamed of Mary, or that they regard their gay daughter as a second-class citizen, could spell trouble for the ticket.
Mary Cheney is in an unenviable position. Her father is running for vice president. Her father's record, as well as the record of his running mate, George W. Bush, shows a history of indifference or outright hostility toward issues concerning gay families, adoption, employment protection, and military service. Open disdain for gay Americans is still acceptable behavior in many parts of the country, with Trent Lott leading the way in the halls of Congress. Too many gay and lesbian teenagers are terrorized at school daily. Mary Cheney is put upon not only to consider family loyalty, but also what a Bush-Cheney victory would mean to her personally and to millions of other gay Americans. In the end, Mary will have to listen to the most contentious voice of all, her own conscience.
Marc Paige writes on AIDS prevention and gay civil rights issues.
