By AP/KWMU
Annapolis, MD – The daughter of former U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes called herself a "liberal queer" on Monday.
Maya Marcel-Keyes also urged support for gay and lesbian young people who have been deserted by their families. She spoke at a rally sponsored by a gay rights group called Equality Maryland.
Marcel-Keyes says she was motivated to speak out because of her rocky relationship with her parents and the recent death of a friend who became ill after being thrown out of the house by his family.
Marcel-Keyes told several hundred supporters that her sexuality had created a rift in her relationship with her parents.
Her father, a conservative Republican, created a stir during his U.S. Senate campaign in August when he said during an interview that homosexuality was "selfish hedonism."