“Marygate” and “Hurricane Mary” are just a couple of the illustrative titles used to describe the veep’s daughter, Mary Cheney – characterizing her as a feasibly destructive force in this year’s race for the 2004 presidential election. Who would have imagined the influence that one lesbian could have over such an important event in American history – just what is it about Mary?

On Oct. 13, during the presidential debates between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, Senator Kerry shocked Republicans and Democrats alike when he commented on the sexual orientation of Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter, Mary Cheney.

Moderator Bob Schieffer asked both the incumbent and presidential candidate, in the context of marriage, “Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?”

Bush told the American people that he did not know, encouraging the nation “to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity… in a free society people, consenting adults, can live the way they want to live. And that’s to be honored.”

He continued to discuss the need to protect the institution of marriage from activist judges by passing a constitutional amendment ensuring marriage remains between a man and a woman – a somewhat predictable answer.

The question was then posed to Senator Kerry. “We’re all God’s children, Bob,” Kerry said. “And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney’s daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she’s being who she was. She’s being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it’s not a choice.”

The nation ignited – and Mary Cheney became, once again, headline news – as the media reported criticism of Kerry from both the Republican and Democratic parties for mentioning Mary during the presidential debate, saying Mary is off limits; even Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president and mother of Mary, said Kerry’s comments about her daughter show that he “is not a good man.” Many insisted he apologize.

Apologize? Apologize for what? Openly gay, Mary is not only the daughter of a vice president who serves for an ultra-conservative administration seeking to amend the constitution in favor of discriminating against GLBTs, but also works as the director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign. Isn’t this an obvious hypocrisy on the part of the Bush campaign that should be discussed openly?

Mary has been cast the victim: a quiet, private citizen caught up in a game of political football, kicked back and forth by Republicans and Democrats alike in an attempt capture the swing vote.

Yet, Mary has not always been quiet – she worked as a gay and lesbian outreach coordinator for Coors Brewing Co., and once her father became veep, Mary joined the gay-friendly Republican Unity Coalition, giving speeches encouraging the GOP to reach out to women, minorities and GLBTs. “We can make sexual orientation a non-issue for the Republican Party, and we can help achieve equality for all gay and lesbian Americans,” she said in an April 2002 statement. But with the onset of the ’04 election and her new appointment as director of vice presidential operations, Mary quit the coalition and has since sat in silence.

Why does the nation believe that mentioning Mary in the context of gay rights is wrong? According to the Washington Post, nearly two in three likely voters – 64 percent – said that Kerry’s comment was “inappropriate,” including more than four in 10 of his supporters and half of all swing voters. Does the answer lie in America’s deep-rooted homophobia? Isn’t this just America adhering to discriminatory stereotypes by assuming that calling someone a lesbian is insulting and damaging?

Newsflash: Mary is an out and proud lesbian – at least she was. Kerry did not “out” Mary. Even her father, Dick, mentioned it at a rally before the Republican National Convention. Now critics are saying that Kerry used Mary’s sexuality as a political maneuver to confuse Bush supporters and label the party as hypocrites. One of the first to comment was Lynne Cheney, “Of course, I am speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom. This is not a good man. What a cheap and tawdry political trick.”

Thanks, Lynne, for your insight as a mother, but where was your indignation when Alan Keyes, a member of your own party, sited your daughter as a hedonistic sinner? It’s not too difficult to see through the politics.

America is simply buying into the age-old homosexuality-is-bad equation. Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the Democratic running mate, said it well, “[Lynne Cheney’s response] indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter’s sexual preference … it makes me really sad.” Even more saddening is how Mary’s strong voice and influence is no longer being used to unite the nation and the GLBT community – her silence is proving to divide us instead.