Portman, Saying Son Is Gay, Now Backs Gay Marriage

Senator Rob Portman, the Ohio Republican, has switched his stand on gay marriage, saying he now supports it after his son told him he is gay.

Mr. Portman, who had been considered one of the leading candidates to be Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012, told Ohio newspapers that his son Will told him and his wife, Jane, in 2011 that he is gay.

“It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have â€" to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years,” Mr. Portman was quoted by Cleveland.com as telling reporters in an interview in his Washington office.

“If anything, I’m even more proud of the way he has handled the whole situation,” the Senator said. “He’s an amazing young man.”

His chage of heart comes after President Obama switched his position during the 2012 campaign to embrace gay marriage, a move that drew wide acclaim by gay rights groups. The President announced his new position at a time that polls have shown increasing numbers of Americans accepted such unions.

Mr. Portman said that when he was being considered for Mr. Romney’s ticket last year, he told the candidate that his son is gay.

While he was not selected as Mr. Romney’s running mate, the senator was a key adviser through his campaign, and played the role of President Obama as Mr. Romney prepared for the presidential debates.

The Early Word: Two Steps Back

In Today’s Times:

• President Obama’s meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday highlighted the divisions between the parties over fiscal priorities as both sides acknowledged the increasing unlikelihood of reaching an overarching deal, Jeremy W. Peters and Ashley Parker report.

• Service members who have been victims of sexual abuse offered emotional statements before a Congressional panel on Wednesday during the first Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military in nearly a decade, Jennifer Steinhauer reports.

• Hoping to channel his supporters’ energy toward lobbying Congress for his second term agenda, Mr. Obama spoke to supporters and former campaign staff members on Wednesday during a two-day meeting of an independent group called Organizing for Action, Nicholas Confessore and Michael D. Shear report.

• In preparing for his first visit to Israel, Mr. Obama is facing the reality that any place he chooses to visit â€" or not visit â€" can hit a nerve, Mark Landler reports.

• The Club for Growth, a conservative organization focused on backing candidates who support its small-government, low-tax philosophy, is encouraging primary challenges to Republican lawmakers and countering more pragmatic efforts to put Republicans in power, Richard W. Stevenson reports.

Washingto! n Happenings:

• Mr. Obama is scheduled to go to the Capitol on Thursday to meet with the Senate Republican Conference and the House Democratic Caucus.

• The Conservative Political Action Conference will open with remarks by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jim DeMint, former senator from South Carolina and president of the Heritage Foundation.

• The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on a proposed ban on assault weapons.

Tip of the Week: Saving Time and Typing With Google Chrome

Entering your contact information into Web forms is just as tedious on tablets and smartphones as it is on a regular computer, but the smaller screen sizes on the mobile devices can make data entry more of a physical challenge. For Android users â€" who also use Google’s Chrome browser on the computer â€" the new mobile Chrome might save time and typing frustration.

If you are logged into Chrome all your devices, you can tap into the same saved passwords and autofill entries you previously stored in the desktop version of Chrome. As Google explains on its Chrome blog, you need to be running the beta (testing) versions of the browser on both the desktop and on your mobile devices; you can find more information and links to the software on the blog.