[Vision2020] GOP Sen. Portman supporting gay marriage

Art Deco art.deco.studios at gmail.com
Fri Mar 15 04:10:35 PDT 2013


GOP Sen. Portman supporting gay marriage
  *STORY HIGHLIGHTS*

   - Ohio conservative Sen. Rob Portman is changing his stance on gay
   marriage
   - A driving force in his decision was his son, who revealed to him that
   he is gay
   - The Republican senator has voted against same-sex marriage many times

 *Washington (CNN)* -- You probably recognize Sen. Rob Portman from his
tireless campaigning for Mitt Romney in 2012. He was even on the short list
to be Romney's running mate.

He's been a leading Republican voice on economic issues for four decades.

Now, the prominent Ohio conservative will be known for something else:
reversing his hardline position against gay marriage.

He invited CNN to his Senate office to reveal the news.

"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 told CNN.

It has to do with another revelation, one deeply personal. His 21-year-old
son, Will, is gay.

"I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is
something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have
the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I
want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay," said
Portman.

Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he
was a freshman at Yale University.

"My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it
was not a choice, and that it's just part of who he is, and that's who he'd
been that way for as long as he could remember," said Portman.

What was the Republican senator's reaction?

"Love. Support," responded Portman.

And complete surprise. He told CNN that he never suspected that his son was
gay.

Portman says his son, now a junior in college, helped him work through his
decision to announce his change in position on gay marriage and blessed the
idea of publicly announcing Will Portman's sexuality.

"I think he's happy and, you know, proud that we've come to this point, but
he let it be my decision just as you know, it's going to be his decision as
to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue," said Portman.

Until now, this was a secret to most people in politics, but not everyone.

Last year, when Romney was vetting Portman to be his running mate, the Ohio
Republican informed both Romney and his top campaign advisers that he has a
gay son.

"I told Mitt Romney everything," said Portman with a laugh. "That process
is, intrusive would be one way to put it. But, no, yeah, I told him
everything."

Portman, who was ultimately passed over as the GOP vice-presidential
candidate in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan, said the fact that his son is gay was
not the deal breaker for Romney. How does he know?

"Well, because they told me," said Portman.

Portman told CNN he sought counsel from a Republican who did serve as vice
president: Dick Cheney, the highest-ranking Republican with an openly gay
child, his daughter Mary.

"I spoke to him personally; I actually met with him," said Portman.

He said Cheney's advice was simple: "'Follow your heart.'"

"He was a good person to talk to because he also was surprised by the news,
in that case, you know, his wonderful daughter, who he loves very much. And
it forced him to re-think the issue too, and over time, he changed his view
on it," said Portman.

"I followed his advice. You know, I followed my heart," he said.

Though he is a staunch conservative, Portman was never outspoken against
gay marriage. But he consistently voted against it.

While in Congress, he supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay
marriage, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and voted for a bill
prohibiting gay couples in Washington from adopting.

In 2011, 100 University of Michigan law school graduates walked out of
Portman's commencement address to protest his position on gay rights after
circulating a petition trying to get him removed as the event's speaker.

"The decision to host a graduation speaker who is openly hostile to LGBT
rights is deeply unfair to the LGBT students who will be in the audience
this year celebrating their graduation," read the petition.

Portman admitted that when the protest occurred, he already knew his own
son was gay.

"It was a little odd. Look, and to be honest with you, it didn't affect
that decision-making much, because it was, I didn't think it was
appropriate," Portman said. "But look, they had their freedom of speech
rights to be able to do what they wanted to do."

"But you know, what happened to me is really personal. I mean, I hadn't
thought a lot about this issue. Again, my focus has been on other issues
over my public policy career," said Portman.

Asked about why he is announcing this change of heart, since his son
revealed it to him two years ago, Portman cited two reasons. He just
recently became comfortable with his decision to shift his position on gay
marriage, and also he said he knew the Supreme Court is considering a pair
of gay marriage cases, and reporters would likely ask him for his position.

"I thought it was the right time to let folks know where I stand so there's
no confusion, so I would be clear about it," said Portman.

What would Portman say to gay constituents who may be glad he's changing
his position on gay marriage, but also wondering why it took having a gay
son to come around to supporting their rights?

"Well, I would say that, you know, I've had a change of heart based on a
personal experience. That's certainly true," he responded with a shoulder
shrug.

But he also repeated a reality. His policy focus has been almost
exclusively on economic issues.

"Now it's different, you know. I hadn't expected to be in this position.
But I do think, you know, having spent a lot of time thinking about it and
working through this issue personally that, you know, this is where I am,
for reasons that are consistent with my political philosophy, including
family values, including being a conservative who believes the family is a
building block of society, so I'm comfortable there now."

To be sure, Portman was anything but comfortable discussing something as
private and personal as his son's sexuality, even noting how foreign it
felt for someone with his Midwestern upbringing and sensibilities to talk
publicly about such issues.

At times, the press-savvy politician even seemed to tremble a bit. But it
was also clear he was willing to endure the discussion in order to publicly
tell his son that he is proud.

"He wanted to tell us that there's something about him that we didn't
know," Portman said, reflecting on the day two years ago his son Will first
told his parents he was gay.

Portman quickly added that it "of course hasn't changed our view of him at
all."


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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