Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images, file
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) attends the 2012 Fiscal Summit on May 15, 2012 in Washington, DC.
By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
Republican Senator Rob Portman has announced his support for same-sex marriage, declaring his decision on the hot-button social issue came after his son came out as gay.
The decision came after long consideration, the Ohio lawmaker told newspapers from his home state on Thursday. Portman?s 21-year-old son, who is a junior at Yale University, discussed his sexual orientation with Portman and his wife in 2011, the senator said.
His son said that his sexuality was ?not a choice, it was who he is and that he had been that way since he could remember,? Portman told Cleveland.com during an interview in his Washington, D.C. office.
?It allowed me to think of this 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,? Portman told reporters.
Portman was considered a potential vice presidential candidate to run with Mitt Romney in the last presidential election, and acted as a surrogate for the Romney campaign in the important swing state of Ohio.
In the interview, Portman said that he believes the issue of same-sex marriage is ?more generational than it is partisan,? according to Cleveland.com. He said that former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is gay, told him to ?do the right thing, follow your heart.?
Portman said he also considered his Christian faith, which led him to decide that ?in a way, this strengthens the institution of marriage.?
?The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly from the Golden Rule, and that fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue,? Portman said, according to Cleveland.com.
The announcement came the same day as fellow Republican Senator Marco Rubio reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage at a conservative gathering.
?Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot,? Rubio told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.
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