(Illustration by Ky Vian)
Watermark Out News is proud to be the leading LGBTQ+ news source of Central Florida and Tampa Bay.
Look back on our 2025 coverage below.
JANUARY
Watermark becomes Watermark Out News in 2025 — the same trusted news source, more visibly out. “We cover the news in a state that is ground zero for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation … we want everyone to know that we are here to inform and support the LGBTQ+ community,” Publisher Rick Todd explains.
Sometimes support means finding joy during difficult times. The new year introduces The Good Page to highlight positive LGBTQ+ news and our first issue helps Florida find the funny with comedians Sarah Silverman and Jessica Kirson. As the nation prepares for Donald Trump’s second term, our next issue details Project 2025’s threat to LGBTQ+ rights.
Central Florida groups renew their focus as the Orlando Gayming League becomes a nonprofit and the Gay Officers Action League of Central Florida elects a new board. The news is also dominated by the indictment of Richard Kowalczyk, then-owner of Southern Nights Orlando and Southern Nights Tampa, on charges of child pornography. Owner Clara Barr announces Jan. 15 that Kowalczyk is no longer involved with the LGBTQ+ venues, and Southern Nights Tampa later rebrands as Disco Pony Nightclub.
Elsewhere in Tampa Bay, TIGLFF marks 35 years of LGBTQ+ film and the community celebrates Jewels Sparkles, local “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 17 contestant. We end the month with an exclusive interview.
During his first week in office, Trump issues nearly 40 executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion, migrant status and more, attacking transgender Americans in particular. Companies like Target formally end inclusive policies.
FEBRUARY
After 10 years of marriage equality in Florida, Watermark Out News examines the likelihood of its reversal. We speak with local LGBTQ+ advocates and married couples. We also introduce the rebranded WAVE Awards — the Watermark Out News: Diversity, Excellence and Resilience Awards, or WONDER Awards — and readers recognize local activists, entertainers and other favorites. Our 2025 Spring Arts Guide is published as well.
In Orlando, Hope CommUnity Center Executive Director Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet launches his bid for Florida House. The Pride Chamber works with local law enforcement agencies to expand Orlando’s Safe Place Initiative and Matthew Inman, a local politico, is arrested on charges of transportation of child sex abuse material.
The Ball opens in St. Petersburg, becoming a key part of Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ+ complex with Cocktail, The Wet Spot and Mari Jean Hotel. A grand jury finds Gerald Duncan Radford not guilty in the fatal shooting of Tampa’s John Walter Lay, a gay man murdered in 2024, and the inaugural Winter Pride welcomes an estimated 57,000 people to St. Petersburg.
Equality Florida seeks support for the organization’s forthcoming Pride at the Capitol. The Let Us Live March also plans its return against the backdrop of mounting anti-transgender measures state and nationwide.
Legal challenges launch against Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders, including his ban on transgender military service and restrictions on transgender and nonbinary Americans obtaining passports. Other countries begin issuing U.S. travel advisories to LGBTQ+ residents and cancelling participation in WorldPride, scheduled for June in Washington, D.C.
MARCH
LGBTQ+ Floridians take the fight for civil rights to the streets. Our first issue highlights what Equality Florida calls “the most 60 dangerous days in Florida,” the legislative session, and our second checks in with LGBTQ+ immigrants. They share how they’re working to combat Trump’s anti-immigrant executive orders, offering hope amidst hardship.
Orlando is among the cities to host demonstrations led by the 50501 Movement, which held “50 protests across 50 states for 1 movement” to speak out against Trump’s “anti-democratic and illegal actions.” An undercover sting operation also roots out child predators in Daytona Beach, including one gay man from Orlando.
Kurt’s Place announces it will open in City Side Lounge, which permanently closes after 30 years, and Love the Golden Rule launches a new fundraiser. The 11th Tampa Pride is held, detailed in our Pride in Tampa magazine, and Bradley’s on 7th marks 14 years as an Ybor staple.
The Trevor Project releases troubling data on the mental health of Florida’s LGBTQ+ youth, while Marcy Rheintgen makes history in Tallahassee. The Illinois student is arrested for using the restroom aligning with her gender identity in the Capitol Building, believed to be the first arrest of its kind in the nation.
The Trump administration eliminates surveillance protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and a federal judge blocks the transgender military ban. The country also withdraws from the United Nations LGBTI Core Group, which formed in 2008 to support LGBTQ+ and intersex rights worldwide.
APRIL
Following the Trump administration’s lead, Florida targets authentic driver’s licenses for transgender residents. Our first issue of the month examines the state’s anti-trans ID policy and the power of allyship.
Our second issue previews the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival as we publish their program. The LGBTQ+ community in Central Florida and beyond also mourns Chadrick Pace, the drag legend Divine Grace who dies at 50 years old.
Largo Mayor Woody Brown stands up to state Rep. Berny Jacques over a local library’s LGBTQ+ content, which remains despite calls for its removal. Winter Pride becomes its own nonprofit and Watermark Out News speaks with “Schitt’s Creek” alum Noah Reid, who brings his act to Clearwater. Dining Out for Life Tampa Bay marks 20 years as well and Jewels Sparkles becomes a “Drag Race” finalist.
The Florida Senate withdraws its bill to ban Pride flags on government agencies, public schools, colleges and universities after public pressure. Utah, however, becomes the first state in the nation to pass such a ban.
In a setback for transgender rights abroad, the UK’s Supreme Court defines “woman” based on biological sex. The effort was brought forward by For Women Scotland and largely funded by “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling. Additional countries warn LGBTQ+ residents to avoid the U.S. as anti-LGBTQ+ policies mount.
MAY
As the president’s policies spark global warnings and domestic lawsuits, our annual travel issue details LGBTQ+-inclusive destinations and community concerns. Experts weigh in on traveling while transgender in particular.
Our second issue of the month previews an early return for One Magical Weekend and Project Pride’s Grand Carnival in Sarasota, speaking with singer John Duff. Watermark Out News publishes our annual Rainbow Family and Central Florida Living Out Loud Guides as well.
The Orlando Gay Chorus celebrates 35 years with “A Choral Kaleidoscope.” Romich Massage and Spa owner Ronel Michael Gutierrez Galvis is also arrested after he’s accused of sexual assault by five patrons.
After opening its new LGBTQ+ center in January, the Fabulous Arts Foundation marks 15 years in Sarasota. St Pete Pride also formally announces the hiring of Executive Director Bior Guigni and holds Shades of Pride with TS Madison while LGBTQ+ “Wicked” superstar Cynthia Erivo visits Tampa Bay to perform with the Florida Orchestra.
Citing Hard Rock Hollywood’s support for anti-LGBTQ+ candidates, the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus calls on the Florida Democratic Party to cancel its annual fundraiser at the venue. It does not. Equality Florida marks the end of the legislative session with the defeat of all anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced this year.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is sentenced to 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last year. He is later pardoned by Trump.
GLAAD releases a study that finds most major social media platforms have failed to protect LGBTQ+ users from hate and harassment, detailing its annual Social Media Safety Index. Efforts also continue to locate Andry Hernández Romero, a gay asylum seeker who was deported in April. U.S. funds that supported marginalized communities abroad continue to dry up under the Trump administration.
JUNE
Former Watermark Out News Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Williams resigns and former Managing Editor Ryan Williams-Jent steps into the role. Bellanee Plaza, who previously served as an editorial intern, is hired as Central Florida Bureau Chief.
Pride Month begins with a look at LGBTQ+ celebrations. Our issues focus on Girls in Wonderland’s landmark 25th anniversary in Orlando, its Silver Jubilee, and the 23rd St Pete Pride. The year’s theme celebrates its roots, detailed at length in the official guide published by Watermark Out News.
Gay Days returns with muted events after former owner Joseph Clark steps away. Hope & Help appoints Thresa Giles as its new CEO and U.S. Rep. Darren Soto enters LGBTQ+ leaders into the Congressional Record for Pride Month. Orlando also marks nine years since June 12, 2016. Governor Ron DeSantis omits LGBTQ+ and Latino people in his Pulse remembrance statement.
In Lakeland, Polk Pride celebrates a milestone with its 10th event. The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber honors local advocates with its signature luncheon and Tampa Fringe returns with widespread support after attacks from DeSantis led to major funding cuts the year prior.
Floridians in over 70 cities gather statewide for the national “No Kings Day” protests to speak out against Trump administration. Former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly also becomes the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for governor in 2026.
To “re-establish the nation’s ‘warrior culture,’” U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth orders the renaming of the U.S. Naval Ship Harvey Milk, among others. In D.C., WorldPride welcomes over one million people — and the LGBTQ+ community shows its power in other ways as well.
As Target announces a drop in sales, the National LGBT Media Association releases a new study signaling economic consequences for abandoning Pride and DEI. The study shows that 75% of LGBTQ+ and ally respondents indicated they would either stop buying entirely or reduce spending with companies that scale back LGBTQ+ marketing or diversity initiatives.
JULY
After nine years, the Pulse memorial moves forward with support from the city, including financial contributions. We detail new plans in our first issue of the month and speak with HIV clinics in Florida in our second. They share how they are continuing to offer free HIV testing for patients amid federal cuts from the Trump administration.
Also in HIV, the world’s only twice-a-year prevention shot, lenacapavir, is approved and made by Gilead Sciences. The prevention dose is sold under the name Yeztugo.
Drag superstar Ginger Minj wins the 10th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” capping a 10-year journey that turned Orlando’s drag darling into an international icon. She celebrates at SAVOY and tells Watermark Out News “it felt like we all did this together.” Zebra Youth also announces a leadership transition with CEO Heather Wilkie departing after nearly a decade.
The Tampa Police Department awards local hero Hum Duchannes after they saved a child’s life. CAN Community Health launches the Susan Terry Foundation to empower people living with HIV, a nonprofit named after its founder, and the Tampa Bay LGBT History Project makes its debut.
Five state lawmakers, including Reps. Michele Rayner and Anna V. Eskamani and Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, visit “Alligator Alcatraz” before hundreds of immigrants arrive at the everglade’s detention center. A Florida judge also dismisses the case against Rheintgen after her arrest at the Florida Capitol and the Florida Department of Transportation threatens city funding over “inconsistent pavement surface markings” like Pride crosswalks.
In a loss for transgender rights, U.S. hospitals begin to cease gender-affirming care under pressure from the Trump administration and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sporting events. Nationwide, the Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in a 6-3 vote.
AUGUST
The state cracks down on rainbow crosswalks and murals, with FDOT beginning to remove any “non-standard surface markings… that do not directly contribute to traffic safety.” They target inclusive sites in Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Key West and more.
That includes the rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse memorial, which is removed in the middle of the night, and Sarasota’s historic PrideWalk. The directive stems from the Trump administration, which notified all 50 states that the U.S. Department of Transportation was introducing a “safety initiative” seeking consistent roadways.
In lighter news, we speak to LGBTQ+ Floridians that are building community through local sports organizations like OUT Sports League and HotMess Sports. For the book lovers, we chat with bestselling author V.E. Schwab about her latest release, which caters to the LGBTQ+ community with three lesbian leads.
With pressure from the state, the Orange County commission approves a controversial ICE agreement. Orlando Museum of Art also receives $2.4 million in state funding for repairs. MojoMan Swimwear & Clothing, meanwhile, hosts a community event to paint a rainbow pride flag in the store’s parking lot.
With its removal looming, St. Petersburg looks for other ways to keep the spirit of its Progressive Pride street mural intact. The community at large also mourns the loss of drag entertainer Jasmine Jimenez, who dies at 46.
Watermark Out News speaks with LGBTQ+ medium Tyler Henry as well and publishes our annual Fall Arts Guide.
SEPTEMBER
With new and reimagined businesses opening in Central Florida and Tampa Bay, our first issue of the month checks in with Anthem Orlando, Kurt’s Place, The Ball and Outpost Neighborhood Tavern. They discuss the importance of safe spaces.
Our second issue previews “The Wiz” and Sarasota’s inaugural Gulfcoast Pride, which is set to debut under Project Pride’s new leadership. Watermark Out News also publishes the annual Come Out With Pride Guide ahead of October’s celebration.
As the fight over asphalt art continues, three protesters are arrested at the Pulse crosswalk after consistent efforts to return its rainbow colors with chalk. Orlando Police also investigate an incident at the site where a local activist says he was assaulted. No arrests are made.
Business owners and artists also respond. Se7enBites owner Trina Gregory dedicates her 49 parking spaces to support artists and the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando while in St. Petersburg, a new initiative launches to provide inclusive murals on private property. It follows the removal of the city’s Progressive Pride and Black History Matters murals. Tampa Pride announces a 2026 hiatus after detailing the termination of former President Carrie West. Creative Pinellas also confirms a significant funding loss from Pinellas County.
The state starts investigating Orange County over its DEI initiatives after a DOGE audit, a directive mirroring the Trump administration’s federal efforts. The first Pope to have been born in the U.S., Pope Leo, meets with one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ advocates in the Catholic Church and Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, is assassinated while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University.
OCTOBER
Come Out With Pride celebrates its 21st year with unity and resilience. We kick off the month by speaking to the nonprofit’s team along with this year’s grand marshals and award winners.
For our annual Halloween issue, we chat with Tina Romero, daughter of George A. Romero, about her feature film debut “Queens of the Dead” while previewing happy haunts across Central Florida and Tampa Bay. The month also sees the publication of our annual Tampa Bay Living Out Loud, Wedding and Holiday Guides.
In Orlando, The Pride Chamber celebrates resilience at the 2025 Pride in Business Awards and Gala and community members raise money for the temporary closure of Renaissance Theatre Company. The theater was condemned after a failed annual inspection.
TransNetwork unveils its new board in Tampa Bay. We also detail the inaugural Sapphic St. Pete, set to launch with a week of events the following month.
In the directorial debut by queer filmmaker and screenwriter Carmen Emmi, we learn “Plainclothes” is not as simple as the title might suggest. Lead actors Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey discuss the film with us.
Nationwide “No Kings” protests occur against Trump and the LGBTQ+ community mourns the loss of trailblazing trans activist and Stonewall veteran Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who dies at 78. The Supreme Court also considers the legality of conversion therapy bans, seeming likely to side with a Christian counselor who sees them as a violation of her First Amendment rights.
NOVEMBER
With a year until the Florida gubernatorial election, we speak with Democrat David Jolly who hopes to end culture wars in the Sunshine State. The former Republican reflects on his evolution and hopes to make Florida a place where everyone is valued and respected.
In our second issue of the month, we talk to two trans-led groups which are creating safe spaces across Florida. They are Orlando’s Ripple Hauxs, a BIPOC and trans-focused advocacy organization and TransMasc of Tampa, a community-led collective that focuses on empowering transmasculine individuals.
In Orlando, The Pride Chamber announces a change in leadership after CEO Gina Duncan resigns. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announces his own campaign for Florida governor.
PFLAG Riverview announces it will hold Pride of Tampa in lieu of Tampa Pride next year. Metro Inclusive Health rebrands as Metro Healthy Communities and tragedy strikes Ybor. A fatal crash into Bradley’s on 7th leaves four dead and at least 13 injured. Elsewhere in Tampa, Kurt’s Place closes after less than four months.
Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith steps down after 28 years. Stratton Pollitzer, Equality Florida’s co-founder, is named CEO and executive director. The Joy Ride also holds its second annual fundraiser, cycling from Orlando to St. Petersburg and raising an initial $282,431.
The LGBTQ+ community celebrates as SCOTUS says that it will not review Kim Davis’ request to revisit her case, a challenge to marriage equality. Davis infamously opposed Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 as a county clerk in Kentucky. The court also allows Trump to enforce its anti-trans passport policy.
Watermark Out News chats with “The Life and Music of George Michael” star Craig Winberry and David Archuleta, both of whom talk LGBTQ+ representation in music, and publishes our annual Q-Health Guide. The award-winning resource details HIV breakthroughs like Yeztugo and much more.
DECEMBER
The Remarkable People Issue returns, highlighting LGBTQ+ changemakers throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay.
This year’s honorees include Central Florida’s Nadia Garzón, Descolonizarte Teatro founder; Kassanndra Santiago, SOMOSLOUD Central Florida president; Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Orange County Democratic Party chair; Blake Simons, The Simons Law Firm founder and Trina Gregory, Se7enBites owner.
In Tampa Bay, they are Rob Hall, Winter Pride executive director; Hum Duchannes, Tampa Bay hero; Leo Andersen, Silkpride founder and Shannon Moore and Joana “JoJo” Cardoso-Moore, who founded Effortless City. The issue details their remarkable 2025.
In Orlando, the LGBTQ+ community mourns the loss of beloved drag entertainer Addison Taylor, who dies at 41. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost brings his MadSoul Music & Arts Festival to the Orlando Amphitheater and GLSEN Central Florida announces its closure. Renaissance Theatre Company also temporarily relocates to a new home.
Nathan Bruemmer is named St. Petersburg’s new LGBTQ+ liaison, making him the first transgender person in the role. CAN Community Health also recognizes World AIDS Day with original “RENT” stars, a benefit for the Susan Terry Foundation.
Florida drag continues to impress “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The series announces its next season will feature Orlando’s Myki Meeks and St. Petersburg’s Discord Addams.
The U.S. declines to recognize World AIDS Day 2025, a first since the global observance began in 1988, and the White House also deadnames Admiral Rachel Levine. A federal court allows the transgender military service ban to be enforced as litigation proceeds.
As the year comes to a close, a new study from the Human Rights Campaign shows congressional Republicans — who control the U.S. Congress and White House — are already working to pass over 50 anti-LGBTQ+ measures next year. LGBTQ+ advocates hope the 2026 mid-term election may change their trajectory.
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