"Gay American".

Your interview with former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey reminded me how far some gay people still have to go to come out ["Happy. Gay. American," October 10]. As a self-described "gay American," McGreevey still uses words like "duplicity" and "shameful" to describe not only his past actions but his homosexuality in general. If he feels like he needs to atone for his second failed heterosexual marriage and for his sexual liaisons, I wish he would do it without dragging the rest of us gay Americans down with him. He opposed gay marriage in New Jersey, made his coming-out a political spectacle, and now is spending his time working on "children's issues." What a waste! He could have stepped up and led as a gay American. He could be fighting for LGBT rights from a governor's mansion. Instead, he is hiding in a gay suburb and shilling a self-loathing book.

JOE SHULKA Minneapolis, Minn.

I was very disappointed that The Advocate participated in the Jim McGreevey press onslaught to promote his new book.

He has publicly declared that he would not have come out had he not been forced into it by blackmail threats. This man is definitely not a good role model for our youth, nor do I think he should be accepted so readily by the gay community, since he never did anything in his political life to advance our civil rights. Interviewer Jon Barrett should have asked tougher questions and could have been more assertive with him to make him more accountable.

I personally do not buy his story. Many of us who are in his age range and were raised Catholic and came from small towns didn't choose to live a lie and harm people for our own benefit. He obviously had the courage to seek out anonymous sex in public places, an extremely risky practice that seems much more aggressive and difficult than being honest about who you are.

He appears to be a sell-centered, egotistical person who has found a way to move into the gay arena to feed his need for power and attention. If he is sincere, I would like to see him donate the huge profits he received for his book to a gay youth organization.

DAVID MARTIN Seattle, Wash.

Could you please explain your thinking in putting the poster boy for gay self-loathing on the cover of the Coming Out 2006 issue? Happy at last? Who gives a damn about McGreevey? He is nothing more than a pathetic, self-hating closet case who will use any excuse for his bad behavior and his inexcusable betrayal of friends, family, and the people of New Jersey. Putting this sorry excuse for a man on the cover is a slap in the face of all the courageous LGBT people who have actually made a difference. Just because someone comes out finally is no reason to hold him up as a shining example of truth.

SKIP HOUSTON Laguna Beach, Calif.

McGreevey has been quoted as stating his motivation for coming clean in his book is because he's "trying to be the whole person. And I think it's important to be transparently honest and transparently truthful." Easy to say after the truth is out. By his past actions, this man does not have an ounce of honesty or truthfulness in his body. He is a selfish and arrogant man who lied to, and wasted the lives of, others to make his dreams come true. He is rubbing his new life in the faces of ex-wife number 1, soon-to-be ex-wife number 2, his children, and the gay community. And now he is "getting on with his life" after carelessly messing up the lives of others.

In my book it comes down to the integrity of a man. Once a liar, always a liar. Once a cheater, always a cheater. There are givers and takers in the world. James McGreevey is a taker, and he is not a friend of the gay community.

JAMES R. CHUMBLEY Atlanta, Ga.

I am a once-married gay man who knows the pain coming-out causes a spouse and family. My life successfully progressed, as has McGreevey's, but at a high price paid by so many others. Hopefully, McGreevey will be willing and able to give the same support and help he is receiving to those who have been affected by his "gay American" announcement.

MICHAEL J. D'AMBRA Seattle, Wash.