Will Portman's Coming Out: In His Own Words

Will Portman, the son of Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman, shared his coming out story with Yale University's newspaper.

The younger Portman, a junior at Yale, struggled with coming out, finally writing a letter to his parents two years ago.

"[Rob and wife, Jane Portman] called as soon as they got the letter," Portman wrote in the Yale Daily News. "They were surprised to learn I was gay, and full of questions, but absolutely rock-solid supportive. That was the beginning of the end of feeling ashamed about who I was."

The Senator endorsed marriage equality earlier this month, becoming the first Republican senator to do so. Will Portman says his father waitied to make his announcement because he didn't want to make his son's life a political issue or reveal it to the world as he was just coming out to friends and family. Will's sexual orientation was also made clear to Mitt Romney's campaign, which at one point considered Portman as a running mate.

By the end of his piece, Portman makes an impassioned plea for marriage equality and says both sides on the issue should avoid antagonizing each other.

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