I have two wonderful daughters. They are bright. They are hard working. They are decent. And I simply am not going to talk about their personal lives.
Most families have the luxury of time and privacy in which to adjust and recalibrate.
In political life, there is neither. And for highly placed conservatives like the Cheneys, there is the added quandary of intense allegiance to the child as well as to the political party whose platform opposes such things as civil rights laws, military service or any other official recognition of the child's way of life. While there are likely just as many gay children in the homes of liberal political figures, the problem is particularly vexing for conservatives, and the issue seems to be coming up more and more for them. Last month, in a highly unusual turn, Republican blueblood William Saltonstall, former Massachusetts state senator, turned his back on the party his Yankee family has supported for generations rather than vote for a ticket he considers antagonistic to the well-being and human rights of his lesbian daughter. The national leadership of the Republican party takes the position that no gay people should adopt children, and if they do, the child might be taken away from them to be placed elsewhere.