Ohio stories catch columnists’ attention

Recent news coming out of Ohio is on the minds of our national columnists today. I think you’ll find both columns to be provocative reading.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, the conservative Republican from southwest Ohio, is the subject of today’s column by Leonard Pitts. Portman, you’ll recall, revealed last week that he has changed his stance on same-sex marriage and now favors marriage equality — some two years after he learned that one of his sons is gay. Pitts ponders why Portman was not able to come to the same conclusion until it affected him personally.

Today and Saturday, we are also sharing what our readers had to say about Portman’s change of heart.

Meanwhile, the notorious rape case in Steubenville has drawn the attention of Kathleen Parker, who discusses the so-called “bystander effect” and the social-media abuses that come with our cellphones’ photo/video capabilities in the hands of youngsters.

Keep the conversation going. If you have thoughts on Portman or the Steubenville rape case that you’d like to share, please drop me a line at mwilliams@coxohio.com.

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