Former VP backs some same-sex marriage

WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday he supports same-sex marriage because "freedom means freedom for everyone."

However, in an appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, Cheney said he thinks same-sex marriage rights should be granted at the state level -- not by the U.S. government.

"Historically, the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level," he said. "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."

Cheney's remarks put him at odds with President Barack Obama on the issue, The Washington Post said. Obama has said he approves of gay civil unions, but not gay marriage.

"I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone," Cheney said, reminding his audience that one of his daughters is a lesbian. "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish."

Cheney has said as long ago as 2000 the issue should be left up to states. In 2004 he seemed to distance himself from a proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, the Post said.