Mary Cheney gave birth to her first child, and I couldn’t be happier for her — because, of course, I think that it doesn’t matter whether you are gay or straight, as long as you are a good, loving parent.
Of course, the whole thing is muddy because she is the lesbian daughter of the nation’s foremost conservative, the scary Dick Cheney. One only has to see him bristle and snarl when questioned about this situation to understand how conflicted and uncomfortable it all is for a man who has carefully cultivated the fundamentalist religious right in order to gain power.
While the right wing freaks are out there claiming that homosexuals are bent on destruction and will eat your children and bring hurricanes and earthquakes, the daughter of the man they support had this to say:
“This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.” But she also went on to declare that “every piece of remotely responsible research” had demonstrated “no difference between children who are raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents.”
Any moment now the fundies will start screaming about the fact that the child doesn’t have a “father” in residence. Still, she managed to work God in there. I suppose it could have been much worse for the Cheneys — she could have had an abortion!
Good for her. And congratulations, Mary and Heather!
And darn you for putting me in the position of defending and congratulating a Cheney!
