WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman has reversed his longtime opposition to same-sex marriage after learning two years ago that his son is gay, Ohio newspapers reported on Friday.
Portman, who played a key role in Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, on Thursday told reporters from Ohio papers including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Columbus Dispatch that his 21-year-old son Will informed the senator and his wife that he was gay in February 2011.
"It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that's of a dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have - to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years," the papers quoted Portman as saying in an interview in his office.
Portman's announcement comes about a week before the Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments in two cases related to gay marriage. One case is challenging the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
In a related case, the court will also hear arguments that question a California law, known as Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. The cases will be argued on March 26 and March 27.
Portman's son, now a junior at Yale University, told the senator that being gay was "not a choice," and that he had been gay "since he could remember," Portman told the papers.
He added that his views on the matter have evolved over the past two years, and he had consulted clergy members and friends including former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has an openly gay daughter.
A spokesman for Portman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Portman told the Plain Dealer he now believes same-sex couples who marry in states where it is legal should be eligible for the same federal benefits granted to heterosexual couples.
He does not, however, plan to sign onto any legal briefs in the Supreme Court cases.
Portman previously backed the Defense of Marriage Act that is now at the heart of the battle in the Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Vicki Allen)
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