Well, first off, this has nothing to do with Tim's sexual orientation in my mind. But rather that he just leveraged his position as Apple CEO to further a personal social issue.
Second, if this was the Apple Computer of the 1990's or 1980's I might view the action as more appropriate. In those days coming out as a gay man had a real impact on people and was an impetus for social change. But today? It's more likely that coming out as gay is unremarkable.
Then for me, as someone who worked for Apple in the 1990's, there's this nagging feeling of unease with a move like this. It's hard for me to remember any time when any of the CEOs, or notable Apple alumni, ever leveraged their position at Apple for a personal political issue. This was something I've always had great respect for. The company was focused on changing it's part of the universe, not involved in political issues outside of it's market.
So perhaps my feelings, given the current political landscape, are that this move was somewhat impotent. There's plenty of gay CEOs at this point. There's very little risk in coming out as gay these days.
Maybe it's better expressed in a metaphor....
It's like hiding to avoid the cops during the Stonewall Riots- and then stating with pride that you were there decades later when it's safe to do so.
Now... if I could see Tim getting involved with marriage rights in his free time, without leveraging Apple, to forward the marriage rights agenda- I'd have some respect. In today's climate- coming out means nothing.
But this whole "If people can see a gay Apple CEO.... and I'm doing my small part" thing is somewhat lame from my standpoint. He shoudl just be publicly working towards marriage reform outside of Apple, publicly, and keep the leveraging to a minimum.
End Note: I'm not an important former Apple employee. In fact no one would remember me. I'm also proud to be a straight, Italian American, Hairy-Backed, semi-retired guy- and I never have leveraged any job I had while advocating for the de-stigmafication of plush back hair.
*shrug*