He may be celebrating Gay Pride Month a couple of days late, but better late than never. Acclaimed journalist Anderson Cooper came out as gay Monday in an open letter to political blogger Andrew Sullivan. Us Weekly reports that the two are longtime friends, and Sullivan, who is also gay, reached out to the Anderson Cooper 360 host about the emerging trend of "gay people in public life who come out in a much more restrained and matter-of-fact way than in the past." In return, Sullivan received Cooper's letter, which detailed his less-than-concealed sexuality: "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud," Cooper writes. He stresses his goal of being an impartial journalist and gives the rationale of being a global wartime correspondent in his reticence to reveal his homosexuality. He writes, "Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people's stories, and not my own." Cooper, who is the son of designer and heiress Gloria Vanderbilt, expresses regret for any concealment of his sexuality: "It's become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something -- something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true." He concludes with the state of his love life: "I love, and I am loved. In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God's greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life . . . . I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope this doesn't mean an end to a small amount of personal space. But I do think visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter's shield of privacy."

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