Dick Cheney 'delighted' at lesbian daughter's wedding

Former United States (US) vice-president Dick Cheney said on Friday he was delighted after his lesbian daughter Mary married her long-term partner Heather Poe.The wedding came amid fierce debate about gay marriage, after President Barack Obama recently came out in favour if it, while his likely Republican rival Mitt Romney opposes same-sex marriage.Ms Cheney and Ms Poe, who have two children, were married in Washington DC, where gay marriage has been legal since 2010, reports said.'Mary and Heather have been in a committed relationship for many years, and we are delighted that they were able to take advantage of the opportunity to have that relationship recognised,' said a Cheney family statement.“Mary and Heather and their children are very important and much loved members of our family and we wish them every happiness,” it added.Forty-three year-old Mary Cheney confirmed the news on her Facebook page, according to People magazine. “Very happy to announce that as of this morning, Heather and I are legally married (at least in DC).”They married 20 years to the day after their first date, she added. The couple have a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.Cheney has said he believes U.S. states should decide on legalizing same-sex marriage, but he backed then President George W. Bush’s efforts to establish a constitutional ban on gay marriages.“He sets the policy for this administration, and I support the president,” Cheney said in a 2004 vice presidential debate, according to the Los Angeles Times.But since leaving office in 2009 he has changed his stance and opposes a federal ban, it said.In February 2010 Cheney said it was “time to reconsider” the ban on gays serving openly in the US military.Obama last year pushed through a repeal of the 1993 law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which required gay and lesbian troops to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the force.