General News Rob Portman of OHIO comes out for the opportunity to Marry

didn't expect that.
guess he's not going to run for President in 2016...

 

this kills his chances of getting nominated.

 

This is surprising, but it makes me like Portman a little more.

 

Queue the deluge of people saying how wonderful this is. I'm not joining that chorus.

I'd like to remind everyone that if he hadn't had a gay son, we would not now be reading this article. In other words, his moral thinking is so full of shit that he actually needs to have his negative attitudes affect people he loves dearly before he decides that maybe his moral ideas are bad. That's not moral thinking. That's "oh, I don't want to hurt my loved ones or people like them."

Let's please, please, please not rush to be congratulatory here.

 

Nah, I don't think so.

But Portman wouldn't have a chance in 2016, anyway. The pool of Republican candidates will be really deep.

 

Hate to break it to you, but that's how it is for almost every straight ally, whether you like it or not. That's the way human beings work.

Don't degrade the people who are trying to support us, no matter the reason.

 

I agree that his sudden change isn't really worth heaping praise onto him, but I'll give props to him for coming out publicly in favour of same-sex marriage as a Republican.

I also think it's hard to empathize with people who are outside of your circle. People very often change their minds about gay rights when they learn that someone close to them is gay. It puts a face on the issue, I guess. It's very unfortunate, but it's the reality.

 

Good on him. While it's unfortunate that homophobes often have to discover a gay person in their personal lives to change their mind on this issue, it still took a lot of fucking guts and/or gigantic balls for Portman to change his position and publically talk about his son's sexuality and how it affected the shift in his perspective. If you listen to any of his interviews about it, you can tell how nervous it makes him to talk about it still. His voice practically trembles.

Especially considering it probably cost him his share of the ticket with Romney, I thought this was a pretty brave thing to do. It takes courage to admit when you are wrong.

 

wow. it's only 2013 and we're thinking on 2016 election already? lol.
but then again, I don't study politics hahaha

 

The National Organization for Marriage has promised to spent every cent they've got to defeat any Republican who endorses marriage equality. Will they throw everything they got to take down an established incumbent Republican U.S. Senator?

Supporting marriage equality definitely makes him ripe for a primary challenge in a party so filled with hate and bigotry as the Republican Party.

 

Thanks for the link. A very honest op-ed.

The criticisms in the media I've been reading of senator Portman are bothering me. They're just so unhelpful. For example, the criticism about him changing his beliefs only because of his family.

I mean, at the heart of the same-gender marriage debate is family. We fight because its our families that are affected. Thats why the community acts as cohesively as it does.The senator is no different.

Moreover, if reconciliation and the progression of gay rights are our goals, the criticism is non-nonsensical. Gay rights rapid progression is due to people acting like the senator. Substantive change can only happen when the majority takes action. In other words, they need to feel motivated(affected enough) to act.

This is one of the reasons civil disobedience is so important. It forces the issues of the minority on the majority, assists the development of relationships and creates opportunities to challenge the perceptions of the majority. Being an invisible majority we have a real leg up as we already have the relationships with every community. So when we come out(force the issue), we have a stronger foundation. Perceptions are more likely to change positively and people are more likely to feel affected and take action.


Really, If we're going to criticize anyone it should be directed at those that 'support us' or are willing to listen but take no action. More than anything the waffling middle slows things down.

Lastly, if we're going to judge the man by those standards then we need to also apply those same standards to ourselves. To do otherwise would be immoral. Most everyone has false perceptions and beliefs about fringe communities that are as harmful if not moreso than his views on gay marriage were. The addicted, the homeless, veterans, etc. Without knowing someone or working in the communities its highly unlikely we don't.