Rep. Matt Salmon is the antithesis to ‘evolved’ Sen. Rob Portman

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A couple of weeks ago, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) revealed that his son is gay and that he has now decided to support gay marriage. By Sen. Portman’s own account,  he opposed gay marriage
until he realized that opposition to gay marriage stands in the way of
his own son’s happiness.

The Washington Post reports today, Rep. Matt Salmon: Gay son hasn’t changed my views on marriage:

In an interview aired over the weekend, Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) told a
local news station that his son’s homosexuality has not led him to
change his position on gay marriage.

“I don’t support the gay marriage,” the social conservative said. But
Salmon emphasized that he loved and respected his son and did not
consider homosexuality a choice.

“My son is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love
him more than I can say,” an emotional Salmon told 3TV. “It doesn’t
mean that I don’t have respect, it doesn’t mean that I don’t sympathize
with some of the issues. It just means I haven’t evolved to that stage.” (video below the fold).

Salmon voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and for a ban on gay adoptions in Washington, D.C. His wife, Nancy Salmon, led the Arizona chapter of the group United Families International during an unsuccessful 2006 fight to ban gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in the state constitution. (A narrower marriage amendment was passed two years later).

Salmon’s son, also named Matt Salmon, leads the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights GOP group. In a 2010 interview with the Phoenix New Times,
the 22-year-old revealed that he was dating Kent Flake, the second
cousin of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). In the article, both young men
discussed coming out to their conservative Mormon families.

“The first time I had a conversation with [my father] about it, it
did not go well. He was very upset and said some things right off that I
know he doesn’t really feel,” Salmon told the paper. “He’s never called
me any slurs or anything like that, but he made it clear he didn’t like
it.” The younger Salmon said his father came to support his activism
even if he didn’t agree with it, but that the struggle for his family’s
complete acceptance continued.

“It took me 20 years to accept that I’m gay, and to live openly and
understand equality issues,” he said. “I can’t expect them to do it in
four months.”

* * *

Sen. Jeff Flake said Sunday
that it’s “inevitable” that there will someday be a GOP presidential
candidate who supports same-sex marriage, and that he could back such a
candidate, even as he opposes gay marriage.