Mary Cheney & Heather Poe Celebrate on Election Night 2004

Who is Mary Cheney?

Mary Cheney is the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney. She was director of vice presidential operations in the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. She came under fire from gay and lesbian activists for not speaking out against Bush-Cheney's stance against same-sex marriage. Mary Cheney now works for AOL.

Who is Heather Poe?

Heather Poe is a former park ranger and UPS manager.

How did they meet?

Mary Cheney met Heather Poe in 1992 playing ice hockey. Mary said in People magazine, "I was a goalie and she was a defenseman. I think she scored on her first shot because I was really bad."

Marriage

Even though she worked for her father's election campaign and the Bush/Cheney stance is against gay marriage, Mary Cheney supports gay marriage. She said, "I am in favor of legalized same-sex marriage...For me [speaking out during the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign] would have been so inappropriate. I signed on to be a staffer; I didn't sign on to express my point of view.

When asked if she and Heather would have a wedding by People magazine Mary said, "From my perspective and Heather's perspective, we already are married. We've built a life together. We've built a home together. She's the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. The way I look at it, the laws just haven't caught up with us yet.

Children

Mary Cheney gave birth to Samuel David Cheney on May 23, 2007 in Washington, D.C. At a forum by Glamour magazine in January 2007, Mary Cheney said, "This is a baby... This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child."

Home and Love Life

Mary and Heather live outside of Washington, DC. They have two dogs and a son. They're both active and love snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking and scuba diving.