11.11.10 Editor’s Desk

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Sometimes canvassing election results is comparable to browsing a roster of names at your high school reunion. You see familiar names and applaud their successful moves onto bigger and better things and you want to wish them well on their future endeavors. Other times, it feels like sifting through the carnage of a war-torn, bloodied, violent battlefield.

The Nov. 2 election feels like the latter.

The mid-term elections have come and gone and it’s safe to say that for many LGBTs, it didn’t go quite as well as we hoped. As Florida’s Governor-Elect Rick Scott prepares to downsize and move into the “small” Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, both the House and Senate have unveiled plans to push forward a conservative agenda that many fear will set our state back a decade or more.

It’s scary, for sure. Scott could reinforce the adoption ban we recently celebrated as inactive. Stricter rules could come down on LGBTs hoping to legalize relationships. Talking heads on television (sans Fox News) are telling us to hang on for a bumpy ride.

Even members of the LGBT community advise us to tread lightly, so as to not to attract the attention of the far-right politicians heading to their new offices in our capital city.

But I have to disagree with my LGBT brothers and sisters who are hesitant to show our struggles through the press or other outlets. Now is the perfect time for us to remind the state that we’re still here and we deserve recognition.

I had a conversation recently with an individual who is very active in the fight for equal rights for LGBTs in the state. Without sharing too many specifics, I’ll say that this person had concerns over some of our recent coverage of the state’s expiring law banning gays and lesbians from adopting. The argument, essentially, was that by shining light on the legal difficulties of certain same-sex adoptions, we gave our opposition information that could be used against us.

It was a “you-should-have-kept-it-under-the-radar” argument.

While that particular stance makes some sense on its surface, I have to disagree. It made me ask myself a question that is asked of me fairly often: What is the role of an LGBT publication?

Are we community news? Are we eye-candy? Are we pure entertainment? Are we politically motivated?

The answer is yes to all of the above, but with an emphasis on relevant news. It’s true we don’t shy away from showcasing a hot man or woman within our pages every once in a while, and our Scene and Heard section has brought many amazing celebrity interviews to our pages this year.

But covering news is what I enjoy the most and it’s something I’m proud to say we’ve improved upon the last 15 months.

There is a lot to report concerning LGBT issues. Gains and setbacks directly impacting our community happen almost daily, and word spreads quickly through social media and websites like Watermark Online.

It’s true we have a responsibility to our readership. But as an LGBT publication, should we censor ourselves? Can our reporting actually give away so-called secrets of the community we may not want those who oppose us to use?

Watermark—and similar publications like ours around the country—has a responsibility to cover every aspect of the community. If someone encounters a legal battle that is unfair, we shine a light on it and let the public know there’s an issue that needs resolution. It is not our role to avoid it and hope the details will get worked out later.

The civil rights movement of the 1960s wasn’t fought in dark rooms or behind closed doors. It was fought—and won—in the streets and in the press. LGBT equality must go the same route.

This WAVE Awards issue of Watermark is about celebrating our community, but the paper is always about representing our fight for equality. Don’t look at news reporting as fuel for the opposition. Instead look at it as representing LGBT people in Florida and showing that we really are just like everyone else—and we deserve the same respect and rights.