In a stunning declaration, Gov. James E. McGreevey acknowledged that he had an extramarital affair with another man and announced his resignation Thursday. "My truth is that I am a gay American," he said.
"Shamefully, I engaged in (an) adult consensual affair with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony," the married father of two said. "It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable."
The Democrat said his resignation would be effective Nov. 15.
Later in the article it says:
The governor, who was married once before, said he has long struggled with the thoughts of his sexuality.
"Because of my resolve and also thinking I was doing the right thing, I also forced what I thought was an acceptable reality onto myself," he said.
And still later it says:
As a candidate and governor, McGreevey proudly discussed his Catholic faith but publicly disagreed with church leaders over his support for abortion rights and same-sex partnerships.
McGreevey pushed for the state's domestic partnership law, which went into effect this year.
Those were the setup for this one:
Gay rights activists said McGreevey's decision is troubling.
"It is a very sad to thing to watch. it is kind of stunning, sad to me that in 2004 people are still having to struggle because of homophobia in society to come to terms with who they are," said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal. "The price that is being paid by the governor, his family."
It would appear that, to Mr. Cathcart, the most important issue here is the Governor's sexuality. However, what I think is the most important issue is that he broke his marriage vows and had an extramarital affair, regardless of whether it was with a man or a woman. Mr. Cathcart seems to be glossing over that part of it, although admittedly I have only the one quote to go by and it's entirely possible it does not completely reflect his views.
I can accept that McGreevey has been struggling with his sexuality for some time. As part of that struggle he decided, rightly or wrongly, to enter into two marriages. He then violated the promise that he made to his current wife by having the affair. I can even understand it if he considers that affair part of how he is dealing with the struggle, but it doesn't excuse his actions. He took a vow and then he broke it. That alone is enough.
I added "(maybe)" to the subject of this post because the article does say this:
McGreevey said he would step down because his secret -- both his sexuality and his affair -- leaves the governor's office vulnerable.
"I am removing these threats by telling you directly about my sexuality. Let me be clear: I accept total and full responsibility for my actions," he said. "However, I am required to do now to do what is right to correct the consequences of my actions."
I'm assuming that this is the basis of Mr. Cathcart's comments, which is understandable. However, the impression I get from this is that McGreevey is acknowledging that public knowledge of his sexuality could be damaging, but it's the fact that he had an affair of any kind that's the most important thing. And that's as it should be.
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