Matt R. Salmon, the openly gay son of Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon, hopes his father will reverse his opposition to gay marriage.

The elder Salmon, a freshman Republican congressman, recently told 3TV that he loves his son but isn't prepared to change his views.

“I don't support the gay marriage,” Salmon said. “My son is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love him more than I can say.”

The younger Salmon, a 24-year-old third-year medical student, told The Huffington Post that his father disagreed with his decision to end reparative therapy, which attempts to alter a person's sexual orientation from gay to straight, while he was an undergraduate at Arizona State University.

“We still had a loving relationship, but it was difficult for him to accept and so it was a rough patch,” he said.

He went on to say that his father's opposition to gay rights doesn't make him anti-gay.

“My father and I have a great relationship, he's one of my close friends,” he said.

In a separate interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Salmon conceded that he hoped his conservative father would have a change of heart on the issue.

“I hope that he changes his position,” Salmon said. “I hope to get married someday. And so, I hope that I have that support.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)