Dick Cheney comes out in support of gay marriage…

WashingtonBlade:  Former Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly come out in favor of same-sex marriage.

Cheney, who served as vice president under former President George W. Bush and is a prominent Republican commentator, announced his support for gay nuptials at an event Monday at the National Press Club, according to the Huffington Post.

He reportedly declared his support when a reporter asked for the former vice president’s reaction to the expansion of same-sex marriage in three states earlier this year.

“I think that freedom means freedom for everyone,” Cheney was quoted as saying. “As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish — any kind of arrangement they wish.”

Cheney was referring to his daughter Mary Cheney, who is a lesbian and a businessperson.

But Cheney said he doesn’t support “a federal statute” to protect same-sex marriage, noting that marriage has historically been regulated at the state level.

“It has always been a state issue and I think that is the way it ought to be handled, on a state-by-state basis,” he said. “But I don’t have any problem with that. People ought to get a shot at that.”

In a statement on Monday, Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, a gay conservative group, said Cheney’s remarks “stand in stark contrast to the trail of empty promises offered by the current Democratic administration.”

“It is clear that Vice President Cheney’s position on marriage equality is superior to that of President Obama and Vice President Biden,” LaSalvia said. “The groups on the gay left — from [the Human Rights Campaign] to the Log Cabin Republicans — should put aside their bitter resentment for the former Vice President for one day and acknowledge the historical nature of his comments.”

Other prominent Republicans who recently came out in favor of same-sex marriage include Steve Schmidt, the strategist for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, and Meghan McCain, the daughter of the senator and a blogger.

Both made the appearances at the National Log Cabin Republicans’ annual convention earlier this year.