Joe.My.God. LGBT News

Famed British singer Joe Cocker, whose gravelly voice and flailing stage presence launched countless impersonations, has died at the age of 70. The singer song-writer from Sheffield had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong. His agent Barrie Marshall confirmed that he had died of an undisclosed illness. …

Via the BBC: A court in Argentina has ruled that a shy orangutan who spent the last 20 years in a zoo can be granted some legal rights enjoyed by humans. Lawyers had appealed to free Sandra from the Buenos Aires zoo by arguing that although not human, she should be given legal rights. They had argued that she was …

(Via Towleroad)

Details.

“I am confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the states’ rights to define marriage. Even as Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2013, he did so because it infringed upon the states’ authority over marriage. He relied on the states’ ‘essential authority to define the marital relation,” and …

A take on modern versions of “Norman Rockwell” families. (Via Bilerico)

Via press release from NCLR: Today, Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill that protects youth and their families from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. D.C. is among a growing number of states to pass or consider such laws, which reflect the unanimous view of medical, mental health, and child welfare experts that attempts by therapists …

Clip recap: “Florida clerks can start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in January — but if they do, they could risk arrest and jail time. An anti-gay group in Hawaii is still trying — and failing — to stop marriages. And things are still looking bad for the National Organization for Marriage.”

“Any Florida clerk who refuses to follow the Constitution’s command and who withholds marriage licenses from couples once the stay expires is on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of the law.  A discredited memo from a law firm won’t provide much protection against the risk of being sued for unconstitutional actions and being held liable for …

Her chili is “really, really, really, really” good. (Tipped by JMG reader Richard)