Actress' claim to be gay by choice riles activists SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Cynthia Nixon learned the hard way this week that when it comes to gay civil rights, the personal is always political. The actress best known for portraying fiery lawyer Miranda Hobbes on "Sex and the City" waded into a controversy when The New York Times Magazine quoted her as saying that for her, being gay was a conscious choice. Nixon is engaged to another woman with whom she has been in a relationship for eight years. Before that, she spent 15 years and had two children with a man. Among the gay rights activists angered by the remarks is Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen, whose organization monitors programs that claim to cure people of same-sex attractions. Besen says Nixon's comments could be used to force people into such programs.