Portman says he has discussed the issue with his church community. Portman for gay marriage after son comes out

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), once a staunch opponent of gay marriage, says that he now supports same-sex nuptials after his son told him he was gay.

“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry,” Portman said, according to CNN.


Two years ago, his son Will came out to Portman and his wife, Jane, during Will’s freshman year at Yale University, which eventually led Portman to support same-sex marriage.

“I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,” Portman wrote Friday in an op-ed in The Columbus Dispatch.

He later wrote: “Two years ago, my son Will, then a college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said he’d known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn’t something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I were proud of him for his honesty and courage. We were surprised to learn he is gay but knew he was still the same person he’d always been. The only difference was that now we had a more complete picture of the son we love.”

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Portman said he discussed the issue with members of his church’s community and former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is gay.

“The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue,” Portman told reporters during an interview in his office on Thursday, according to The Plain Dealer.

He also said: “It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have — to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.”

Portman also said that he informed 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney that his son was gay when he was being interviewed as a possible running mate.

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“I told Mitt Romney everything,” Portman told CNN. “That process is — intrusive would be one way to put it. But no, yeah, I told him everything.”

Though he was passed over for Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Portman said the Romney campaign told him that it was not because of his son.

Portman was once a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act and now says that parts of DOMA — which is currently under review by the United States Supreme Court — should be reversed, such as not allowing for gay couples to file joint tax returns, according to The Plain Dealer. But he maintained in his public interviews that his focus is still primarily economic issues and that he does not support laws forcing religious institutions to perform weddings they do not recognize.

“I believe that no law should force religious institutions to perform weddings or recognize marriages they don’t approve of,” he wrote in the op-ed.

Will Portman took to Twitter after the reports surfaced to say that he was proud of his dad:

Especially proud of my dad today dispatch.com/content/storie… — Will Portman (@wdportman) March 15, 2013

Meanwhile, Portman’s Democratic colleague Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) praised Portman’s new position.

“I’m glad Sen. Portman has joined the growing majority of Americans who support full civil rights for our gay and lesbian family, friends, and neighbors. Practicing family values is about loving all of God’s children,” Brown said in a public statement. “I look forward to working with him to ensure that all Americans have the ability to marry regardless of whom they love or where they live.”

House Speaker John Boehner, a fellow Buckeye who opposes gay marriage, said he “respects” Portman’s conversion.

“Senator Portman is a great friend and ally, and the Speaker respects his position,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steele said.