Ohio Senator Rob Portman has said that
he feels comfortable talking about his endorsement of marriage
equality.
Portman last year became the first
sitting GOP senator to endorse such unions.
In an op-ed and later in interviews
with CNN and the AP, Portman, a co-sponsor of the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA), said that he had dropped his opposition after his son,
Will Portman, told him and his wife Jane that he's gay.
Last week, the National Organization
for Marriage (NOM), the nation's most vociferous opponent of marriage
equality, announced that it will oppose Portman's reelection or
possible presidential bid.
(Related: Gay
marriage foe NOM vows to target Sen. Rob Portman for defeat in 2016.)
Portman told the AP that he's
comfortable talking about the issue.
“Every week, sometimes every day,
somebody will talk to me about it,” Portman
said.
“I feel very comfortable in taking a
position of respecting people for who they are,” he continued,
“which is what I think ultimately same-sex marriage is about.”