Portman objects to federal ruling on same-sex marriage

YOUNGSTOWN — Though he supports same-sex marriages, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman disagrees with a federal judge who ruled that Ohio must recognize those marriages performed in other states.

“I am, as you know, someone who believes that every state should be able to decide this,” Portman, a Cincinnati-area Republican, said today during a meeting with The Vindicator’s editorial board. “There shouldn’t be a federal government, judicial mandate, but rather it should be decided by the states.”

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black made the ruling today.

The decision doesn’t impact Ohio’s Defense of Marriage Act, approved in 2004 by voters, but the ruling would require the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states. Ohio plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

Portman came out in favor of same-sex marriage in March 2013, two years after one of his sons told him and his wife that he was gay.

“More and more people are recognizing that someone who is gay” should “have the ability to find that joy and stability that others of us who are heterosexual have found in marriage,” he said.

Public sentiment is moving toward accepting same-sex marriage, but it will take a while for it to become law in Ohio, Portman said.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com