Sen. Rob Portman Comes Out For Marriage

Saying that his relationship with his gay son has given him a change of heart, GOP Sen. Rob Portman (OH) has come out in support of same-sex marriage. He is the first sitting GOP Senator to do so. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

"During my career in the House and also the last couple of years here in the Senate, I've taken a position against gay marriage, rooted in part in my faith and my faith tradition," he said. "I had a very personal experience, which is that my son came to Jane, my wife, and I and said he was gay and that it was not a choice, and that's just part of who he is and he'd been that way for as long as he could remember." After Will, who is now 21, came to him, Portman said he went through "a process of changing my position on the issue," concluding, "I now believe that [gay] people ought to have the right to get married." The Columbus Dispatch reported that Portman had "informed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney about Will when Portman was being interviewed last year as a potential vice-presidential nominee."

Previously Portman supported DOMA and a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.