Cheney on same-sex marriage opposition: ‘I was wrong’

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) in a new interview said she was wrong for opposing same-sex marriage in 2013, a policy stance that broke with her father and her sister, who is gay.

Cheney was asked about her previous opposition to same-sex marriage during an interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that was released on Sunday.

“I was wrong. I was wrong,” Cheney said in a transcript of the interview.

“I love my sister very much. I love her family very much. And I was wrong. 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,” she said.

Cheney made headlines in 2013 when she publicly opposed same-sex marriage on the campaign trail. She was mounting a primary bid against former Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), from which she ultimately withdrew.

The lawmaker at the time said that while she loves her sister, Mary Cheney, and her family “very much,” the issue of same-sex marriage was one on “which we disagree.”

Mary Cheney shot back on Facebook, writing at the time, “Liz — this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree, you’re just wrong — and on the wrong side of history.”

Their father, Vice President Dick Cheney, had broken with many in his party by supporting same-sex marriage, saying in 2009, “I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone.”

“I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish,” he added.

Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, in 2013 defended Liz Cheney’s opposition to same-sex marriage during the public spat between the Cheney sisters, saying the issue was one the family had “dealt with privately for many years.”

“Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage,” the couple added.

Liz Cheney on “60 Minutes” told Stahl that “freedom means freedom for everybody.”

“This is an issue that we have to recognize, you know, as human beings, that we need to work against discrimination of all kinds in our country, in our state,” Liz Cheney said.

“We were at an event a few nights ago, and there was a young woman who said she doesn’t feel safe sometimes because she’s transgender. And nobody should feel unsafe,” she added.