Alan Keyes' gay daughter comes out

ANNAPOLIS, Md., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The 19-year-old daughter of former conservative talk show host Alan Keyes made her first public appearance Monday as a gay rights activist.

Maya Marcel-Keyes addressed a Valentine Day's rally in front of the Maryland State House in Annapolis, sponsored by Equality Maryland, a pro-gay-rights group. Her father, the well-known pundit and conservative commentator, caused a stir during the 2004 Republican convention when he said homosexuality was "selfish hedonism."

"It was kind of strange that he said it like a hypothetical," his daughter told the Washington Post. "It was really kind of unpleasant."

Marcel-Keyes said since coming out, her parents have thrown her out of the house, stopped speaking to her and refused to pay for college. She told the Illinois Leader her parents cut her off because of what she is -- "a liberal queer."