Several weeks ago, a lot of media attention surrounding Republican Rob Portman who now supports same sex marriage because he has a gay son. Even more attention was drawn to Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon because of his inability to support same sex marriage even with him having an openly gay son. Now his son, Matt R. Salmon is speaking on behalf of his father and is respecting that he does not share the same views. Here’s more:
Matt R. Salmon, 24, tells AZ Central that his father “doesn’t support gay marriage, but that doesn’t make him anti-gay at all…my father and I have a great relationship, he’s one of my close friends.”
Salmon, who is a third-year medical student, reveals that he attended reparative therapy while an undergrad at Arizona State University. His decision to end reparative therapy created a rift in his relationship with his conservative father: “We still had a loving relationship, but it was difficult for him to accept and so it was a rough patch.”
He also says that he and his father “have the best relationship we’ve ever had,” though he confesses he wishes he had the same support that Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who now supports same-sex marriage, is providing for his gay son. Still, he notes, “It took me 20 years before I was OK with myself…I can’t expect anybody else to do it overnight or change their minds in any sooner amount of time.”
There has to be a lot of emotions surrounding situations like this. On the one hand, some would suggest that Matt should not be at all concerned with what his father thinks as instead of accepting him the way that God created him, he tried to change that. But cutting off a parent that way is easier said than done.
And on the other, maybe all of what Salmon needs is more time. He supposedly has reached a point to where he and his son are able to communicate openly and honestly about who they are and what they believe. Maybe as he gets to know his son the more opportunities to see the error in his ways.
In any case, as a politician, Salmon should have the wisdom to see that same sex marriage is not a religious issue but a government/legal issue. So his definition or any other created by religion has no business in this debate. Regardless of the good relationship they both say they have now this has to still be hurtful that his father does nor believe he should have every right like all other citizens of this country. But again, maybe he just needs more time to evolve as Portman and the rest of the country. Let’s all hope it doesn’t take too long.
You would think after Rob Portman’s announcement several weeks ago coming out in support of marriage equality since he has a son who is gay would show a trend with the religion-obsessed extremists of the republican party changing their views. Some felt it would give other politicians that are in the same situation more incentive to support LGBT rights. But as the case goes of Congressman Matt Salmon from Arizona, that belief may be a little premature to say the least.
Salmon stated in an interview this past week that even though he loves his son more than anything, he has not yet reached that evolution that Portman has obtained. Here’s more:
In a recent interview with 3TV, Salmon said that while he has a son who is gay, he’s not a supporter of same-sex marriage.
“I’m just not there in believing in my heart,” said Salmon, adding, “My son is one of the most important people in my life. I love him more than I can say.”
Rep. Salmon has maintained a reputation as a staunch social conservative throughout his political career.
Republican Senator Rob Portman recently announced that he had changed his opinion on same-sex marriage after learning that his son is gay.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t have respect, it doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with some of the issues, it means I haven’t evolved to that station, Rob Portman apparently has,” said Salmon.
Salmon says he does sympathize some of the issues but doesn’t seem to make an effort as to clarify what those issues are that he supports. Would he be willing to support his son’s right to fair and equal job treatment in the workforce and work towards making bills such as ENDA (Employee Non Discrimination Act)? Would he support more federal laws that outlaw hate crimes in this country? I guess we would have to look at his voting record while in congress but from his stringent conservatism I doubt it.
That has to hurt hearing a parent either does not support who their child is or that they seem to be struggling so hard with reaching a level of acceptance of who they are and their right to live any way they choose. Much worse when those views of the parent are so public. Even though this is a family issue, his opinion doesn’t only affect his family. It affects
But it still doesn’t excuse Congressman Salmon’s position on the matter. Moreover it leads to even more an unfavorable opinion that he so vaguely discusses that he has not reached a level of understanding yet no clear justification of why he has this stance. It wouldn’t make the situation any easier for their relationship as father and son, or his constituents that happen to be LGBT. Sounds like Salmon needs to learn more about LGBT rights and it’s history so he sees that having this view is oppressive to LGBT and to his family.
Since the days of Larry Flynt, Cincinnati, OH has been famous for having a puritanical stick up its ass. And no one in Cincinnati’s stick is bigger than that of Phil Burress of the “ex-porn addict” and President of religious right-wing group Citizens for Community Values which is officially associated with the American Family Association, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family (And they are so proud of that fact that they brag about it)
After hearing today that his ultra conservative friend and Ohio State Senator Rob Portman came out in support of same-sex marriage stating :”I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years.” Burress appeared on American Family Association’s OneNewsNow to do anti-gay spin control saying that Portman is a “a very troubled man right now and is distraught over what’s happening with his son.” And that Burress himself “just has a feeling that his son was pushing him into this for political reasons,”.
Later that day on the CCV website Burress wrote the following statement to his “followers”
Rob called me Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. to share about his situation and the position he was taking concerning his son and same-sex marriage.
I believe Rob will understand why, as much as I might ache for my friend and the painful emotional struggle of his son’s identification as gay, that it does not change why I still strongly support natural marriage as only between a man and a woman.
I explained to Rob that my wife (Vicky, who he met at an AFA meeting) and I served on the board of an organization that saw thousands of homosexual men and women walk away from that behavior (Exodus International),many who went on to a natural marriage and were also blessed with children. I told him we would pray that some day his son would as well.
For Rob, it appears his beliefs on same-sex marriage changed when it became personal. I understand that. Yet it does not change the truth that homosexuality is not innate. The evidence of that is in the lives of so many today that live free of unwanted same-sex attraction.
Many Ohioans know family members and friends who identify as homosexual. Yet an overwhelming number of Ohioans also voted to affirm marriage as only between one man and one woman. They didn’t do so out of some misplaced hatred or fear of homosexuality. Like my wife and I, they understood the importance of a married mother and father in the life of children. They understood that a mother and father each bring unique and character shaping attributes to a child’s life. The simple truth is that a mother cares for and nurtures a child in a way a father just can’t. In the same way, a father cares for and relates to a child in the way a mother can’t. That is the inescapable truth of the debate Rob has now ignited in Ohio over same-sex marriage.
Not every family would make the same decision Rob did. Many parents, because of their deep and abiding love for their child, would not accept and embrace their child’s decision regarding homosexuality. My wife and I believe that if you love someone you tell them the truth. They may not like what they hear, but you love them anyway.
The question now is not whether parents love their children when they identify as gay. It is whether Ohioans will allow the personal experience of one high-profile family to sway its deeply held belief in the original purpose and meaning of marriage.
Burress and his group the CCV along with COAST henchman lawyer Christopher Finney who now has now infiltrated the Cincinnati NAACP chapter to spread his hatred of homosexuals and his ultra right-wing conservative ways wrot Ohio’s “anti-gay marriage/one man, one woman amendment” which is one of the strongest worded in the country and forbids any rights for same-sex couples in the Ohio even under domestic partnerships or civil unions and also shares some credit for John McCain’s transformation from political maverick into doddering old fool and ally of the Christian Right. And back in 1998
Phil Burress and the Citizens for Community Values, are the locked and loaded dangerous country bumpkin cousins of the FRC and the AFA. But make no mistake. They are much more dangerous and play to a much more gullible and naive audience who hang on thier every ord and are fully backed by Ohio’s republican mafia party. They oppose any protections and rights for LGBT citizens and made outrageous, disgusting and inaccurate statements in the name of God to cover their hate and push their heinous agenda.
Said Burress recently about a push for LGBT protections in Ohio: When the governor acknowledges them [gays] as a minority group, which they are not, you’re also saying to them that their behavior is OK. And it’s NOT OK to engage in this type of behavior when it’s gonna cause you possibly to die from AIDS.”.
This is Cinicinnati. This is the midwest. This is where we need to stand up and fight the hardest.
Ultra conservative Ohio Senator Rob Portman known for his hardline GOP “family values” ways made a surprise announcement yesterday by telling the press that he is reversing position against gay marriage and now stands for it.
And the reason for his change of heart?
Portman’s 21-year-old son, Will Portman who came out to his family as gay.
“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry” Portman said before CNN newsmen. “I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay,” said Portman
Yo Rob Portman’s surprise Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he was a freshman at Yale University.
“My son came to Jane, my wife, and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that it’s just part of who he is, and that’s who he’d been that way for as long as he could remember,” said Portman.
Portman says his son helped him work through his decision to announce his change in position on gay marriage and blessed the idea of publicly announcing Will Portman’s sexuality.
“I think he’s happy and, you know, proud that we’ve come to this point, but he let it be my decision just as you know, it’s going to be his decision as to the role he plays going forward in this whole issue,” said Portman.
While in Congress, Portman supported a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and voted for a bill prohibiting gay couples in Washington from adopting
