Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) speaks to the crowd at Ohio Republican Sen. candidate Josh Mandel's election night rally in Columbus, Ohio, November 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND | Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:45pm EDT

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Senator Rob Portman became the most prominent Republican lawmaker to back gay rights when he reversed his opposition to same-sex marriage on Friday, two years after his son told him he was gay.

In a newspaper opinion piece on Friday, shortly before the Supreme Court is to hear arguments in two key cases on the issue, the Ohio senator 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.

"That isn't how I've always felt. As a Congressman, and more recently as a Senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then, something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way."

Portman's 21-year-old son, Will, told the senator and his wife in February 2011 that he was gay and had been "since he could remember."

It was the latest show of public support for gay rights. President Barack Obama announced last year that he approved of gay marriage, and in his inaugural speech in January, he equated gay rights with civil rights.

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments later this month in two cases related to gay marriage. One challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In a related case, the court will also hear arguments that question a California law, known as Proposition 8, banning gay marriage.

Portman was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper as saying he now believes same-sex couples who marry in states where it is legal should be eligible for the same federal benefits granted to heterosexual couples.

Portman served as trade representative and then White House budget director under former President George W. Bush.

He was among the front-runners to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick during the 2012 election, but budget hawk Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin eventually got the nod.

PARTY SPLIT

The Republican Party has become increasingly split on the gay marriage issue, with some arguing that socially conservative positions such as opposition to same-sex marriage are contributing to the party's election losses.

An early Republican favorite for the 2016 presidential race, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, staged a defense of traditional marriage in a high-profile speech to a conservative conference on Thursday.

"Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot," the 41-year-old Cuban-American told the Conservative Political Action Conference.

But Republican strategist John Feehery said Portman's announcement could change attitudes in the party.

"I think so. The fact of the matter is Dick Cheney has been out there on this. Ted Olson, Rob Portman. And what's becoming clear is if you know somebody who happens to be gay, you feel much differently about this issue. The fact is we all know somebody who is gay. So I think this is going to be another indication that times are changing on this issue." he said.

In his op-ed piece, Portman wrote of how he has "wrestled" with reconciling his Christian faith with the desire for his son to have the same opportunities as his siblings.

"Ultimately, for me, it came down to the Bible's overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God," he said.

Keith Cottrell, 40, an IT professional who lives in Cleveland, said he didn't "see much nobility" in Portman's decision because he only lined up behind gay rights after learning of his son's sexuality.

"I mean I'll gladly take his vote but would we applaud someone who constantly voted against women's rights if they changed their mind after having a daughter?" Cottrell said.

Portman said he consulted clergy members and friends including former Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney, who has an openly gay daughter, has reiterated his support for gay marriage over the past several years, despite his deeply conservative views on many issues.

Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an influential group of social conservatives in Iowa, said Portman had been "short-sighted" for changing his views.

"I don't see the Republican Party any time soon abandoning his stance on marriage. I see more than anything it is emboldened in their stance on marriage," he said. "The last time I checked, God's word was the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow," he said.

Portman's new position was supported by former opponent David Axelrod, who was Obama's senior campaign advisor.

"Courageous decision by Rob Portman to endorse same-sex marriage, guided by the love of a parent rather than by party ideology," Axelrod tweeted.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by Vicki Allen and Bernadette Baum)

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NEW DELHI | Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:08am EDT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Shazaf Fatima Haider was always interested in how it happened. How strangers met in contrived settings, were expected to like each other and get married.

Eventually, the 30-year-old teacher from Karachi saw the funny side of arranged marriages and cultural backgrounds in Pakistan and decided it was the perfect subject for her debut novel, "How It Happened."

The book, recently launched in India and Pakistan, is the story of Dadi, the matriarch of the Bandian family in Karachi, and her quest to find the perfect Shia Muslim groom for her granddaughter Zeba. Told from the point of view of Zeba's younger sibling Saleha, the novel explores how negotiating ancient marriage traditions in the 21st century could stretch a family to the end of its tether.

Haider spoke with Reuters about her book, Pakistani culture and writing.

Q: How much of "How It Happened" is inspired by real life?

A: Well, some of it was inspired by what I saw around me. I grew up listening to stories of my mother's home town in India and so the fictional town of "Bhakuraj" was born as this vital, bizarre place full of eccentric people. My grandparents died before I was born and I yearned to have a grandmother to be the kind of force that Dadi in "How It Happened" was to Saleha, so I think the yearning gave birth to the narrator and the grandmother, who are my two favourite characters in the novel. Soon after, the Bandians were born and they are quite unlike my actual family. After that, the story took shape and the rest is what is in the pages before you.

Q: Tell us a bit about your research for the novel.

A: No research, what you read is what popped up in my head. I was always very interested in what men and women went through in the process of arranged marriages and had been at the listening end of many a rant by an irate person of eligible age and status. I also had a few suitors grace my drawing room with their presence and I witnessed their discomfort with considerable amusement. And then, one day my friend called me and told me that a prospective mum-in-law had told her that she was interested in my friend because she was an American citizen (her son wanted a passport-holder) I thought, what a perfect subject-matter for satire. So off I went to write and out came "How It Happened".

Q: Did your family know that you were writing the novel?

A: It was a secret. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to finish it, or that it wouldn't be good enough. One of my closest friends, Sameer Khan, was my only reader and critic - he was a med student but he still read each chapter I wrote and gave detailed feedback. The book wouldn't have been written without his constant encouragement.

Q: Sectarian violence is threatening Pakistan's stability at the moment. The Shia-Sunni rivalry is also a dominant thread in the novel. Do you see things changing any time soon?

A: Oh things are changing, of course, but it's different for different families. Never make the mistake that what is happening on the political scene is a representative of what the ordinary citizen thinks or wants -- people desire unity, peace and stability, not violence and bloodshed. In my family specifically, the Shia-Sunni thing isn't such a big deal any more -- many Zebas have come before us. But I know that some other families would like to stick together with the same religious flock.

Q: Through this novel, what is it that you wanted to say about marriages and cultural backgrounds in Pakistan? Was a humorous novel your first choice?

A: I didn't want to write a didactic novel and I hope I haven't. Humour was the natural choice because it's such a bizarre arrangement, getting strangers to meet in contrived settings and expecting them to like each other. Even animals have difficulty with breeding in captivity! I hope people will read the book and have a good laugh. Because to survive this system with grace, a good sense of humour is vital.

Q: Which is your favourite compliment yet for "How It Happened"?

A: I was very happy to learn that my male readers were enjoying it as much as my female readers. The cover seems to imply that women are the primary audience for this novel, but don't men suffer the rigours of the arranged marriage? One of them tweeted to me and said that he had loved it and that I rocked. And I think he rocked for saying that."

Q: What next after "How It Happened"? Is there scope for a sequel or a novel about education in Pakistan?

A: I am half-way through my second novel but I realize that I'm going to have to change the tone of the story completely which involves a complete re-write. It has nothing to do with "How It Happened". There is certainly scope for a sequel, though I'm not sure I want to visit the world of the Bandians any further. I've lived with them intimately and enjoyed my time with them. It's time for them to go their way and for me to go mine.

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?

A: Submit as much as you write. Don't reject your own work when there are a thousand other people, agents and publishing houses to do that for you. And don't think your words are sacred - they are not - be open to changing tone or voice or anything such to serve the cause of your story telling. Don't show your work to everyone because everyone will have a different idea of what constitutes good writing. Find that one person whose opinion you trust and show your work to them.

(Reporting by Tony Tharakan; Editing by)

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Actor Danny DeVito and his wife Rhea Perlman kiss as they pose on his star after it was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California in this August 18, 2011 file photo.

LOS ANGELES | Mon Oct 8, 2012 5:54pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman are separating after 30 years of marriage, DeVito's spokesman said on Monday.

Stan Rosenfeld said the pair had split but gave no details.

DeVito and Perlman married in 1982 and have three adult children. The duo, both known for playing characters with sharp tongues, acted alongside each other in the 1978-82 TV comedy "Taxi," in which she had a recurring role as his character's girlfriend, and in the 1996 children's film "Matilda."

Perlman is best known for her role as sarcastic waitress Carla Tortelli in the 1980s hit comedy "Cheers," for which she won four Emmy Awards.

DeVito, who won an Emmy for his turn as the despotic dispatcher in "Taxi," currently stars in the FX comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

The pair also founded TV and movie production company Jersey Films, whose titles include "Pulp Fiction" and "Erin Brockovich."

(This version of the story has been corrected in the 4th paragraph to show Perlman played a waitress) (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Gary Hill)

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