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Cheneys engage in family feud over marriage
Mary Cheney pushes back against Liz Cheney’s opposition to same-sex nuptials
Liz Cheney (Photo by Milonica; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The Cheney family is engaging in public spat over comments U.S. Senate candidate Liz Cheney made in opposition to gay nuptials despite her lesbian sister Mary Cheney’s same-sex marriage.
Liz Cheney, who’s challenging incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) for the Republican nomination in next year’s primary in Wyoming, distanced herself from her sister during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, saying “I believe in the traditional definition of marriage.”
“I love Mary very much, I love her family very much,” Liz Cheney said. “This is just an issue on which we disagree.”
Liz Cheney’s opposition to same-sex marriage stands out in her family.
Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, is a prominent Republican supporter for same-sex marriage. Liz Cheney’s sister, Mary Cheney, married her partner, Heather Poe, in D.C. last year.
Poe was the first respond to Liz Cheney’s comments on Facebook, saying she was “very disappointed” to hear her sister-in-law’s remarks.
“To have her now say she doesn’t support our right to marry is offensive to say the least,” Poe continued. “I can’t help but wonder how Liz would feel if as she moved from state to state, she discovered that her family was protected in one but not the other. I always thought freedom meant freedom for EVERYONE.”
Poe’s remarks recalls Dick Cheney comments in support of same-sex marriage when he said during a National Press Club event, “I think freedom means freedom for everyone.”
Mary Cheney followed-up by sharing her spouse’s comments on Facebook and expressing her own displeasure with her sister’s remarks.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Mary Cheney said. “Liz – this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree – you’re just wrong – and on the wrong side of history.”
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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