In February, 2011, Will Portman has been formulating ways to come out, to end his lifelong anxiety and feeling of not fitting in. He had tried to do so earlier, but found himself unable. One day, though, he had mustered his courage and steeled his nerves. He was going to do it. He had researched ways to come out, and doing so in person wasn’t an option while he was at Yale and his father, recently elected Senator Rob Portman, was in Cincinnati, Ohio. He drafted it up in Yale’s library and sent it overnight to his parents (W. Portman). Senator Portman received that letter the next day, and after reading it with his wife, he called Will immediately. According to his son, Portman’s parents were very supportive of his son’s coming out. Portman did not public announce this until 2013, though. It took two years of deliberation and thought over this idea; whether he should support the marriage of LGBT people, or stay with his party’s common verdict of strict opposition of it, and social conservatism. He thought about his son’s happiness versus his party’s acceptance, and his own values as a Christian. His faith had been a big part of his opposition of gay marriage for many years (R. Portman). Two years of deliberation helped him decide to support gay marriage, but not without a cost.…show more content… Even in Portman’s home state of Ohio, gay marriage remains illegal until a ruling is found, and the almost all major state offices are held by Republican officials who oppose gay marriage (Freedom to Marry). One of the few Republicans that agree with Portman’s decision is Dick Cheney. Cheney says that "people should be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to enter into." Although, he believes that states should determine whether or not it is legal rather than the federal government. This mirrors Portman's own beliefs, as he also believes in these ideals (Chicago
