Cheney Family Airs Gay-Marriage Feud on Facebook

Mary tells sister Liz, "You're just wrong — and on the wrong side of history"

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Matt Young / AP

Liz Cheney speaks during a campaign appearance in Casper, Wyo., on July 17, 2013

Everyone must be looking forward to Thanksgiving at the Cheney house. Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughters have found themselves at the center of the culture wars again, when Mary Cheney and her wife chided Liz Cheney for opposing gay marriage during a nationally televised interview on Sunday.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Liz Cheney said she disagreed with her younger sister’s decision to marry her longtime partner Heather Poe in an interview on Fox News Sunday, leading Poe to publicly express her disappointment with her sister-in-law via Facebook.

“When Mary and I got married in 2012 — [Liz] didn’t hesitate to tell us how happy she was for us,” wrote Poe. “To have her now say she doesn’t support our right to marry is offensive to say the least.”

Mary Cheney shared her partner’s Facebook message, adding: “Liz — this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree — you’re just wrong — and on the wrong side of history.”

Late Sunday, Mary Cheney told The New York Times that it would be “impossible” for her and her sister to repair their relationship as long as Liz Cheney was against gay marriage:

“What amazes me is that she says she’s running to be a new generation of leader,” Mary Cheney said, citing her 47-year-old sister’s slogan in her campaign against Mr. Enzi, 69. “I’m not sure how sticking to the positions of the last 20 or 30 years is the best way to do that.”

Mary Cheney also told the Times that she “will not be seeing” her sister during a family gathering this Thanksgiving and suggested that she didn’t mind complicating Liz’s campaign for U.S. Senate in Wyoming. Liz Cheney’s stance on gay marriage has been a source of debate in Wyoming, where a super PAC ran an ad questioning her conservative views on the issue.

[The Washington Post]