Personal Experience Means Everything: Rob Portman and Gay Rights

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Many outlets including the Huffington Post report this morning that Senator Portman - one of the original authors of DOMA - is changing his stance on gay marriage.  About two years ago, his son came out to him and his wife - and he has spent the last two years reflecting, speaking with clergy, and (presumably) praying about the matter.

More and more Republicans are going to have similar experiences.  It is easy to reject something foreign and distant that you only see on television.  But the issue becomes "real" when it affects those we love: our family, our friends, our neighbors. 

I think Portman's got it right, and it's how I have felt for years.  In Matthew, Jesus tells us that the two highest "commandments" are (1) to "Love the Lord" with all the intensity you can muster and (2) to "Love your neighbor as yourself."  (Matt. 22:36-40).  In Portman's own words:

"The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue." 

Amen.