Post ombudsman responds to reader complaints about gay kiss

WaPo ombudsman Andy Alexander deals forthrightly with complaints from a number of readers about a front-page photo last week of two men kissing after filing their marriage license application at D.C. Superior Court. He quotes some of the hostile reader responses, some epithet-laden, then writes this:

Did the Post go too far? Of course not. The photo deserved to be in newspaper and on its Web site, and it warranted front-page display.

News photos capture reality. And the prominent display reflects the historic significance of what was occurring. The recent D.C. Council decision to approve same-sex marriage was the culmination of a decades-long gay rights fight for equality. Same-sex marriage is now legal in the District. The photo of Ames and Ariga kissing simply showed joy that would be exhibited by any couple planning to wed – especially a couple who previously had been denied the legal right to marry.

There was a time, after court-ordered integration, when readers complained about front-page photos of blacks mixing with whites. Today, photo images of same-sex couples capture the same reality of societal change.

Much of this is generational. Subscription cancellations notwithstanding, the Post could hardly hope to compete in the modern marketplace if it based its editorial decisions on the delicate sensibilities of an aging, shrinking portion of the populace. I am in a good mood today after seeing three weddings, so rather than respond to those readers' curses with curses of my own, I will just say to them, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples are getting married, which will soon be thousands whether you like it or not because we worked for a long time within our democratic system to achieve this victory, so have a nice day.

(Hat tip: Barrett Brick)