Joe.My.God. LGBT News

Actor James Gandolfini has died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 51. Gandolfini was on holiday in Rome, said Mara Mikialian, HBO’s vice president for program publicity. The actor was scheduled to make an appearance at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily this week, according to the festival. Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of …

Democratic mayoral candidate and former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson, who lost to Bloomberg by only four points in 2009, tonight received the endorsement of the city’s 200,000-member teachers union. Tonight all seven declared Democratic mayoral candidates will debate at Hunter College on the Upper East Side. The debate will be carried live by NY1 and should prove quite lively. RELATED: …

Saying they have no confidence that the coming Supreme Court rulings will change things for Florida, activists there say they are gearing up to place a repeal of that state’s constitutional ban on the ballot. They’ve got a tough battle ahead of them. “We think it’s going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people who are thinking …

Furrily freaky.

Today’s Toronto Star features a story about how a lesbian bride reacted to a wedding gift basket.  As JMG reader David notes via email, perhaps the most interesting part of the story is how the bride’s sexual orientation isn’t even mentioned other than in a passing reference to her bride. Consider this: you attend the wedding of a casual acquaintance. …

One of the more interesting pitches to hit the JMG in-box this week….

And they want July to be Heterosexual Pride Month.

Pro-Palestinian activists are planning to picket a Pet Shop Boys appearance in London tonight in protest of the dance duo’s gig scheduled for June 28th in Tel Aviv.  From the protesters’ website: The Pet Shop Boys – Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, recognised as the most successful duo in UK music history, are scheduled to perform in apartheid Israel to …

A Minnesota court has sentenced Pastor Ryan Jay Muehlhauser to jail for sexual assaults he made on male clients seeking “ex-gay” therapy. According to court documents, God’s earthly representative told the victims that their sexual encounters were “blessings.” Muehlhauser, 55, of Cambridge, had been an Isanti County pastor serving the community for more than 20 years when he was charged …

From the London Sun.