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It is a theme that has become increasingly familiar during the rapid evolution of American political attitudes toward same-sex marriage: People who learn that a friend or loved one is gay are far more likely to support same-sex marriage, even if they were once adamantly opposed.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who became the first Republican in the U.S. Senate to openly endorse same-sex marriage, is simply the latest.

Portman, in an op-ed published Friday in Ohio's Columbus Dispatch, said his turnabout was prompted after his son, Will, revealed two years ago that he is gay.

The switch, coming less than two weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court hears a pair of challenges to same-sex marriage bans — including one that Portman voted for — is being characterized by gay rights activists and others as historic.

This feels like the point, they say, at which Republican-led opposition to gay marriage may have begun its most public, perceptible erosion.

"Portman is politically conservative, but he's never come across as an ideologue," said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst and former Ohioan who characterized the senator, a former Bush administration budget official who was on Mitt Romney's short list for vice president, as "an insider politician."

"This is probably just the tip of the spear; we're going to see more of this," said Kondik, at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "He's the first Republican senator who supports gay marriage, and he certainly won't be the last."

“ This is probably just the tip of the spear; we're going to see more of this.