Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, surprised viewers on Tuesday's episode of "The View" when they they expressed their support for gay marriage.

"I think freedom means freedom for everybody," said the former vice president, "and you ought to have the right to make whatever choice you want to make with respect to your own personal situation."

"I certainly don't have any problem with it," he added.

Barbara Walters, one of the hosts of "The View," raised the subject when she asked Lynne Cheney what she thought of gay marriage.

Lynne Cheney responded by telling Walters about their gay daughter, Mary, and her partner, Heather, who have two kids. "Whatever Mary and Heather decide to do is up to Mary and Heather," she said.

"So you're not against gay marriage?" Walters asked.

"That's right," Lynne Cheney said, nodding as the crowd applauded.

This isn't the first time that Dick Cheney has expressed support for gay marriage, and his comments on Tuesday echoed what he said at the National Press Club in June 2009. But in those comments, however, he added that he believed that same-sex marriage "ought to be handled on a state-by-state basis."

The former vice president was on "The View" promoting "In My Time," his new memoir.