Portman in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage; Kakenya Ntaiya Starts School in Kenya, Empowers Young Girls
BANFIELD: When it comes to same-sex marriage, Republicans continue to surprise. Senator Rob Portman who for years strongly spoke out against gay marriage now says he's for it. He dropped that bombshell in an exclusive interview with our Dana Bash, telling her that the change of heart has come because his 21-year-old son has told him that he's gay. But here's his response when Dana asked him: what do you tell your gay constituents?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you say to a gay constituent in Ohio who says I'm so glad that he changed his position. Why did it take him learning that he has a gay son? Why didn't he as my representative care about that before?</s>SEN. ROB PORTMAN, (R) OHIO: Well, I would say I had a change of heart based on a personal experience. That's certainly true.</s>BANFIELD: In a tweet, Senator Portman's son, Will Portman, expressed his joy declaring that he's, quote, "especially proud of my dad today." Portman is joining a growing list of Republicans who have come out in support of gay marriage. Including Dick Cheney, the former V.P. whose daughter, Mary Cheney, married her longtime partner last year. Former First Lady Laura Bush, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and also Meg Whitman who originally supported a ban on gay marriage when he ran for governor of California in 2010, they've all reversed course. Portman's surprise comes as conservatives are holding their biggest event of the year. It's known as CPAC. Happening outside of Washington, D.C. Wolf Blitzer joins us to talk about that. Wolf, while we talk about what Senator Portman has said in his exclusive interview with Dana Bash. Gay groups are not even invited to CPAC. Is there still this disconnect among the larger Republican party?</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's still a major split in the country on same-sex marriage, equality as it's also called. And those differences are reflected not only in conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans. Although the divisions have narrowed over the past several years, they're reflected in the public opinion polls as well. Though we have seen steady increases over these years, in the number of Americans who support same-sex marriage who want gay couples be allowed to get married. So that has clearly changed over the years. What Senator Portman is now doing, albeit, in part at least in large part because he discovered his own son is gay, is reflective of a much wider acceptance of gay marriage all across the country.</s>BANFIELD: So what about the issue of social policy? The evolving Republican party? The need to change? The effects of the last election, immigration, gay marriage, abortion all of these things? How much is gay marriage a part of this evolution if there is going to be such?</s>BLITZER: Well, I think if Republicans and conservatives are going to be reaching out to young people, the overwhelming majority of young people in all of the polls we've seen are much more open to gay marriage than older Americans, more traditional Americans. And even as president -- former President Bill Clinton who signed the Defense of Marriage Act which maintains that marriage is between a man and a woman 17 years ago, he signed that into law. He now opposes the Defense of Marriage Act and thinks that gays should be allowed to get married just as any other American should be allowed to get married. So there's a generational gap, if you will. And I think that politically speaking, a lot of Republicans are beginning to say to themselves, you know what, since their stance opposing gay marriage is not necessarily popular with younger Americans, they've got to see the handwriting on the wall, if you will. But it's significant, very significant with Senator Portman. He does this on the eve of the oral arguments that will be made before the U.S. Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act on gay marriage. That we expect a decision by the nine justices before the end of June. Look, these justices, while they try to just look at the law, they're also impacted by public opinion, I think it's fair to say. So his decision to express the support for gay marriage I think is significant.</s>BANFIELD: And we're within two weeks of those oral arguments, too. Wolf, great. Thank you so much. I have a reminder, too, we've got this terrific new program that's coming. We want everyone to take a peek. It's CNN's new show called "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper. it gets underway on Monday afternoon at 4:00. How could not watch a very smart guy who likes comic books? Admittedly so. Jake's a good guy. This week, CNN, our hero, is giving young girls in her village a chance to go to school, a chance to challenge their destiny. She's doing to by challenging a cultural tradition that many people around the world as cruel and barbaric and yet it just keeps happening. It's called female genital mutilation. Even though it's outlawed in Kakenya Ntaiya's homeland of Kenya, it still goes on in some rural areas. An it affects, are you ready, 140 million women worldwide.</s>KAKENYA NTAIYA, FOUNDER, KAKENYA'S DREA: I avoided the ceremony as far as I could. Most of the Maasai girls undergo this mutilation when they're 12. I really liked going to school. I knew that once I go through the cutting, I'm going to be married off. And my dream of becoming a teacher was going to end. My mind said to run away, but I had to face my dad and say I will only go through the cutting if he lets me go back to school. It was done in the morning, using a very old rusty knife with no anesthesia. I can never forget that day. Eventually, I was the first girl in my community to go to college in the U.S.. I am Kakenya Ntaiya. And I returned to my village to start a school for girls so they, too, can achieve their full potential. When girls start at our school, they are very shy, but over time, you see them very confident. How are you girls?</s>UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Fine.</s>NTIYA: They are doing very well. It's the most exciting thing. Our work is about empowering the girls. These girls say no to being cut, they're dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors. Fathers are now saying, my daughter could do better than my son. Why should you work hard? To achieve your goals. I came back so girls in my community don't have to negotiate like I did to achieve their dreams. That's why I wake up every morning.</s>BANFIELD: Kakenya's school has 155 students. To enroll in that school, parents have to agree not to circumcise their daughters. To learn more about this program, or you can nominate someone you think deserves to be recognized go to CNNheroes.com and tell us about them now. The trial of two high school football players accused of raping a 16- year-old girl several times while she was dead drunk hits court with a fury. You won't believe some of the text messages that are coming out in evidence. I'm going to show them to you. And you can be the judge, coming up.