Joe.My.God. LGBT News

GOP Virginia state Del. Mark Cole wants to see what students have between their legs. Via Crooks & Liars: Cole wins the Creepiest Lawmaker of the Day award for this stunning piece of legislation, requiring that students strictly adhere to designated restroom assignments or risk being fined. The legislation as filed requires that students attending schools designating restrooms for a …

Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was sworn in yesterday and as Bobby Jindal hits the exit things will immediately get better for the state’s impoverished families. Via Daily News Bin: Edwards says that he’s signing off on Medicaid expansion this Tuesday. That means at least 100,000 low-income residents of Louisiana will gain access to health care immediately. The Affordable …

“In God We Trust” first appeared on US coins in 1864 and was added to paper currency in 1957 during the height of the red scare. Atheist activist Michael Newdow is trying again to put an end to it, but this time he’s using the Hobby Lobby tactic. Hemant Mehta reports at Friendly Atheist: The federal lawsuit, which was filed …

The Frankfort Courier-Journal reports: Following through on a campaign pledge, Gov. Matt Bevin has notified federal authorities he plans to dismantle kynect, Kentucky’s health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act. The decision drew immediate fire from health care advocates, including Bill Wagner, executive director of the Family Health Centers, a network of public health clinics in Louisville. “It’s …

Rupert Murdoch, Mick Jagger – what’s the difference? USA Today reports: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and actress and former supermodel Jerry Hall announced their engagement Tuesday. The news was revealed in the births, marriages and deaths section of the Times of London, which is owned by Murdoch’s News Corporation media group. It reads: “Mr Rupert Murdoch, father of Prudence, Elisabeth, …

Russia’s Duma will vote on banning LGBT citizens from coming out on January 19th. Via Gay Star News: Two senior Russian Communist MPs Ivan Nikitchuk [inset] and Nikolai Arefyev have presented a bill calling for people who come out as LGBTI to serve up to 15 days behind bars. Any public displays of affection among gay men will result in jail …

JMG reader Alan tips us to this sorta bear-related story from Business Insider: Idaho resident Mike Wolfe had always been embarrassed by his back hair, but at age 35 he decided to turn it into profitable works of art. Wolfe recruited his friend and artist Tyler Harding to shave an American flag into his back. From there, the duo decided …

The Associated Press reports: A Republican lawmaker in Virginia is pushing legislation that would allow clerks to refuse to issue licenses for marriages they object to on moral or religious grounds. Republican Sen. Charles Carrico of Galax said many of his constituents were concerned about what happened to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who spent five days in jail last …

Bloomberg Business reports: One of China’s newly minted technology billionaires signed a deal to buy a controlling stake in Grindr, the world’s biggest gay social-networking app. Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., an Internet games company that helped introduce Angry Birds to China, offered $93 million in cash for 60 percent of New Grindr LLC, the company said in a statement to …

YouTube’s popular Taiwanese Animators abandoned their usual snark and bombast for a comparatively somber tribute to David Bowie. Watch below.