Mary Cheney Gets the Dr. Laura Treatment by Gay Rights Group

A new Web site launched Tuesday has put the openly lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney in the hot seat as the country's same-sex marriage debate reaches a fever pitch. DearMary.com is asking its readers to write public letters to Mary Cheney on the issue that will be published on the site and in national newspapers and magazines. The vice president has said he believes the issue of gay and lesbian marriage should be decided by individual states though he would support a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution if backed by President Bush.

"DearMary.com brings the battle home for Dick Cheney, literally," said John Aravosis, creator of the Web site and national cochair of DontAmend.com, a civil rights group hoping to block the Federal Marriage Amendment. "If the vice president thinks gay relationships are such a threat to society that we need to amend the U.S. Constitution, then he needs to explain why a lesbian in a same-sex relationship is running his reelection campaign. Are we a threat, or aren't we?"

Mary Cheney, 34, has been openly lesbian for years and has worked as the gay liaison at beer brewing company Coors and been a member of the Republican Unity Coalition. Cheney has quit the coalition and now runs her father's reelection campaign, where she is reportedly earning $100,000 a year, according to The Washington Post. "Mary Cheney is a lesbian in a committed relationship," said Robin Tyler, national cochair of DontAmend.com. "Even though she cannot take responsibility for her father's actions, she can and should take responsibility for her own. Just because her father is the vice president is beside the point. Is it moral for Vice President Cheney to put his boss before the welfare of his family? It is time for the child to have the courage to publicly stand up to the father and say, 'Don't do this, it is just plain wrong.' Other children in far less privileged positions have done it. So where is Mary Cheney?"

DontAmend.com was founded by Tyler and Aravosis, who also were cofounders of the StopDrLaura.com campaign targeting antigay radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

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