Norm Kent: Publisher

Four Month Retrospective
Some Thoughts on the National Gay News

After four months, no grand retrospective here. But a couple of things jump out at me.

First, we are beginning to be noticed, read, and heard. Advertisers are calling, columnists are writing, and prudent national gay organizations are finally and wisely sending us their press releases, so we can give life and cover to their energy and efforts. We want to. But you have to let us know what you are doing and when. From Michigan to Miami, we are here for you.

Second, the biggest difference between a local and national paper I now see is that while we all want to see what is going on in our hometown- politics is local- gay life is universal.

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You see, it is not just that we have a Neanderthal for a Mayor in Fort Lauderdale. You find homophobia in a restaurant in Kansas City where lesbians are booted for kissing. You see it in Spain when a jurist says gays can’t raise kids.

You see it ooze out of corporations who will not provide partnership benefits. You see the transgendered discriminated against more publicly in city after city as they fight for their rights. And we are still fighting for funding for AIDS.

You also feel the bond in our movement nationally when you hear in churches every weekend who are mobilizing anti gay marriage amendments. The bottom line is whether you live in Seattle, Washington or St Petersburg, Florida; we all have a lot more in common than we do apart. There are gay softball leagues and gay choruses in city after city and the hits and melodies they put together unite us all.

Ironically, gay life is flourishing in America from the sidewalks of Santa Monica to the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Wilton Manors. Across this land, we are involved in our communities, leaders in professions, and running for office. We are forging mainstream ties and building homes, serving in the judiciary and starting successful businesses. We are doing good, and we have reason to be proud. We are here and we are not going anywhere except forward.

National organizations and gay and lesbian leaders are voices on CNN and in the media. We are recognized and we are being heard, on tv shows, in movies, and in our neighborhoods. But you know it is not really all about us. It is hard to get caught up in a dumb mayor saying he needs robotic toilets to prevent gays from congregating when American soldiers die in Iraq every day, mines are collapsing, and bridges are falling down.

Yes, I am also an advocate for medical marijuana but how can I focus too much of my intention on this isolated goal when cops and citizens are suddenly getting wantonly slain and shot in our communities and on our campuses. We may be gay, but we are a part of the world around us, and that entity seems to be coming apart, not by tsunamis and acts of nature but by the reckless hands of our negligence. When a cop gets shot, it could be a gay deputy. When a victim gets beaten up, it could be a man coming from a gay bar. We all have interests greater than ourselves. It is to live in peace and harmony with others.

The National Gay News is making a mark, and maybe we will save the career of the next transgendered City Manager. Still, our goal should also be to make a difference on our school boards, where we need diversity, in our churches, where we need tolerance, and in our communities, where we need more of us participating.

We helped develop a few national stories already. We became the epicenter of news for a new organization fighting an old mayor in South Florida. We have revealed how a students’ gay rights awareness day was countered by religious intolerance. We have exposed how a major cruise line discriminated against gay men because they call themselves ‘Bears.’ We have steadfastly revealed injustices in Iraq and around the world which still impact gay and lesbian lives not as progressive as America, and we have shared stories about countries and communities that America can only hope to become. Our goal and our mission is to bare online any intolerance and discrimination anywhere in our country and around the globe.

Well, I have a bit of surgical procedure that will knock me out of commission for a while, and I may not get to post a column for a bit. But when I go into the hospital I want to know that the facilities are modern, the doctors thorough, and the treatment first class. I look for efficiency, not sexuality. I don’t go to a hairstylist because he is gay, and I don’t expect you to hire me as a lawyer in the daytime because of whom I sleep with at nighttime. Our lives will become richer and more meaningful when we are defined by our deeds, our courage, and our willingness to make a difference.

One thoughtful blogger has already called us a ‘ USA Today for gays.’ Of course, there is also a loser of a blogger in Florida who has tried to reduce us to a ‘porn plus site,’ trying to damage our name everywhere, while spending an uncanny amount of time on our site reading article after article. I am glad we can provide the forum for him apparently his straight life does not.

I hope you too are getting our daily dose, and appreciating it, always remembering that while we post gay news, we post mainstream news as well. We have columnists and crossword puzzles, features and funnies. We are trying to become your daily wake up call, and we need your support in our content as well as from your pocketbook.

If you like what you see, buy a link for an ad to your business. Our rates are modest, our readership growing, and our opportunities enhanced each day. And if you cannot afford an ad, can you not afford to at least post your pet’s picture on our pet of the day page, so you can give your best buddy his day in the sun?
Thanks for being here with us on the original journey. We still need writers and we are looking for salespeople. We still need more original content and more people sending us more stories and more ideas.

We have created a site we hope you call your own, and will modify its look to your needs to fulfill our goals. So drop us a line, lend us a hand, and become a part of nationalgaynews.com

As I said, we all have a lot more in common than we do apart. Help make Nationalgaynews.com uncommonly good, unique, and successful.

Norm Kent
Publisher