When the political becomes personal

I see that Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) has come out (so to speak) in favor of gay marriage, after his son identified himself as homosexual. His rationale:

"As a congressman, and more recently as a senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples," Portman writes in an editorial published today in the Columbus Dispatch. "Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way." In 2011 Will, then in his first year at Yale, told his parents that he is gay; that knowledge, Portman writes, "prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective." Deciding that the Bible's "overarching themes of love and compassion" and gay couples' status as a "a potential source of renewed strength" for the conservative instution of marriage overrode his faith-based objections, Portman had a "change of heart": "I believe all of our sons and daughters ought to have the same opportunity to experience the joy and stability of marriage."

Portman's reference to the Bible is almost laughable as it seems that only now has he discovered love and compassion in his Christianity. I.e., there really is more to the issue than Leviticus 18:22. In a nutsehell, this pretty much demonstrates the narrow mindedness of Republicans. Viz., only when an issue becomes personal can they be counted on to show any kind of integrity. Arthur Miller wrote an entire play regarding a similar issue and came to the same conclusion: It isn't enough to zero in on one's own comforts; rather, one must regard everyone (or, at the very least, one's constituents) as "all of our sons and daughters."