Ohio Senator, Rob Portman reversed his conservative views on same-sex marriage two years after his son told him he was gay.

In a newspaper article Friday, before the Supreme Court was scheduled for a hearing on two cases regarding the issue, Portman said he now supports gay marriage.

"I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn't deny them the opportunity to get married," Portman wrote in an op-ed piece in Ohio's Columbus Dispatch.

Senator Rob Portman had always been on the conservative side of the polarizing issue. Then something happened that changed not only his views, but also his entire outlook.

Rob Portman's 21-year old son, Will, told Rob Portman and his wife he was a homosexual, "since he could remember."

Later this month the Supreme Court will address to same-sex marriage related cases. The two cases deal with the constitutionality of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act and the California state law known as Proposition 8.

Rob Portman also served as trade representative and White House budget director as part of President George W. Bush's staff.

Rob Portman was one Paul Ryan away from Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate in 2012.

Senator Rob Portman's public support for gay rights is the first positive display since Barack Obama's inaugural speech where the President equated gay rights with civil rights.

Will Rob Portman's announcement change attitudes towards antiquated social values in the Republican party? I sure hope so.