anti gay marriage NJ governor says "I am a gay American"

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TRENTON, N.J (Reuters) - New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, who earlier this year said he opposed gay marriage, announced on Thursday he would resign and admitted to having a homosexual affair.

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Slideshow: N.J. Gov. Resigns Over Gay Affair

McGreevey, who is married with two children, told reporters he had a consensual affair with another man and that he had been conflicted over his sexuality since adolescence.

"Throughout my life, I have grappled about my identity," McGreevey told a news conference, making reference to his Catholic upbringing.

The Democrat spoke about the love, strength and respect of both his first and second wives but said, "From my early days of school until the present day, I acknowledged some feeling, a certain sense that separated me from others."

"Yet at my most reflective, maybe even spiritual level, there were points in my life when I began to question what an acceptable reality meant for me."

"My truth is is that I am a gay American," he said.

"I indulged in a consensual sexual affair with another man, violating the bonds of matrimony. It was wrong, it was foolish and it was inexcusable. For this I ask for the grace and forgiveness of my wife," McGreevey told a stunned news conference, his wife Dina by his side. "I have decided the right course of action is to resign."

He said his resignation is effective November 15.

McGreevey, 47, took office in January, 2002 for a four-year term and will be succeeded by Democrat Richard Codey, the current president of the state senate, since there is currently no lieutenant governor.