Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, wrote an Op-Ed for the Columbus Dispatch about his change in position on gay rights:
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.
That isn’t how I’ve always felt. As a congressman, and more recently as a senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way.
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.
This is good news. Some have chastised Portman for only caring once he was directly affected. Really, though, that’s human nature. It is always easier to relate with personal experiences than to empathize with those for whom we are ignorant.