Margaret Carlson, Columnist

Can Rob Portman Change His Party's Position on Gay Marriage?

The Â Republican Party's position on same-sex marriage shouldn't depend on the personal experience of Republican elected officials.

March 15, 2013 at 4:42 PM UTC

By Margaret Carlson

Margaret Carlson was a White House correspondent for Time, a weekly panelist on CNN’s “Capital Gang” and an editor at the New Republic.

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Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, one of the most respected and comparatively moderate Republicans in Congress, has had a change of heart on same-sex marriage. The reason for Portman's change of heart is that his son is gay, and he wants his son to be happy. And happiness means the ability to get married, as straight couples can.

This is all to the good. But how many Republican elected officials will have to discover they have gay children for the party to relent on its unyielding position against same-sex marriage?