GAP PARTNERS WITH GLAAD, SHARING LGBT EMPLOYEES' STORIES FOR 'GOT YOUR BACK' PRIDE MONTH CAMPAIGN

Thirteen Gap employees share their coming out stories in a powerful new video for GLAAD's #GotYourBack campaign.

The video, released June 1, is the latest installment in the ongoing GLAAD effort, which aims to encourage allies to speak out in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community throughout Pride Month.

Paul Tew of Gap Inc.'s GEAR (Gay Employees, Allies and Resources) said the project was in line with his corporation's belief that "lifting voices out of isolation -- and vocalizing support -- is a critical step in achieving equality."

"As a global company, it's important to us that all of our employees and customers feel this support, from a local colleague to a Gap associate across the world," he told The Huffington Post in an email statement.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis echoed those sentiments, noting, "From classrooms to board rooms, locker rooms to living rooms, it's critical that allies take an active role in accelerating acceptance of their LGBT friends, family and neighbors."

She then added, "By sharing the moving stories of LGBT employees, Gap Inc. is sending an important message about the power of love and acceptance."

Previously, Gap encouraged employees and customers to share messages of acceptance on social media with the #GotYourBack hashtag in the wake of Indiana'sReligious Freedom Restoration Act, which many interpreted to provide legal protections for business owners to cite religious beliefs in turning away LGBT customers.

You can read more about Gap's participation in the GLAAD campaign here.

SOURCE: THE HUFFINGTON POST

TOSSED MY SALAD LIKE HIS NAME ROMAINE...5 ASS EATING TECHNIQUES TO MAKE HIM MOAN

Ass is the uncharted frontier. Many have spread it open. Several have plunged to its depths. Others have explored its vast and far reaching walls. But still many have not fully come to comprehend it’s wonders. The obstacle many of us fall into when figuring out a particular ass is we neglect to tell those seeking to explore us exactly how to treat our golden, chocolate, caramel, or cream-colored hills. That could be an attribute of not truly understanding our asses. We’ll gladly say fuck it, suck it, or eat it, but we rarely go the extra step of informing our partner on how to do those things. We leave them to their own devices and cross our fingers hoping he (or they) knows what he (or they) is doing.

APPLE'S TIM COOK DONATES $6.56 MILLION TO CHARITY

Apple boss Tim Cook has donated $6.56million (€6million) to an undisclosed charity.

The donation – which took the form of 50,000 Apple shares – came to light on Friday in an SEC (Securities and Exchange) filing.

The donation was executed on Thursday. Cook is obliged to disclose the movement of any shares that he owns but does not have to have to report the recipient’s details, although the filing states that the transaction was a ‘charitable donation’.

It still leaves Cook with over 900,000 Apple shares.

According to NBC, Apple has confirmed the donation but declined to comment further. 

In late March, Cook – who came out as gay last October – told Fortune magazine that he intended to give away the bulk of his personal wealth, estimated to be around $1billion (€916million), to charitable causes.

He said at the time, ‘You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripples for change.’

In December, he made a ‘generous’ personal donation to the Human Rights Campaign’s Project One America, which works on promoting LGBT equality in the US South. Cook himself heralds from Alabama – one of the states targeted by HRC’s Project One.

Cook is not the first tech leader to indicate that they plan to give a sizeable chunk of their fortunes to charity. Financier Warren Buffet (who is reported to be worth in excess of $70billion) has been encouraging the super-rich to give away at least half of their worth in their lifetimes. His ‘Giving Pledge’ has been taken up by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS

FREEFALL SEASON 2 - EPISODE 222 (FINALE)

RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: SEASON 7 - GRAND FINALE

After weeks of intense competition, gaff-pounding lip syncs and (some might say too many) group acting challenges, Mama Ru has bestowed the RuPaul's Drag Race season seven crown unto America's next drag superstar.

The winner was revealed on last night's Drag Race, previously filmed with three unique endings, ensuring the winner would be kept under wraps. Then, there was a live crowning at Stage 48 in New York City following the reveal. We had the opportunity to attend the live event and mix it up with the queens.

Find out who took the crown, and read our Q&A with the winner. And the winner is ...

US PRESIDENT OBAMA ISSUES A GAY PRIDE MONTH PROCLAMATION

To honor LGBT Pride Month, US President Barack Obama released a proclamation.

The White House issued the statement on May 29th 2015.

It starts by connecting the fight for LGBTI equality with the country's history.

'Over the course of more than two centuries of striving and sacrifice, our country has expanded civil rights and enshrined equal protections into our Constitution,' the proclamation says. 'Through struggle and setback, we see a common trajectory toward a more free and just society.

'But we are also reminded that we are not truly equal until every person is afforded the same rights and opportunities -- that when one of us experiences discrimination, it affects all of us -- and that our journey is not complete until our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.'

The president points to the highlights in his administration, from prohibiting federal contractors from discrimination based on sexual orientation to calls for a ban on conversion therapy.

'...I will keep calling on the Congress to pass legislation so that all Americans are covered by these protections, no matter where they work.'

Obama doesn't shy from the remaining work for the gay community: homelessness for LGBTI youth, supportive housing for  'older individuals,' and an update of the country's plan to address HIV/AIDS.

The statement ends with the following:

'...We celebrate the proud legacy LGBT individuals have woven into the fabric of our Nation, we honor those who have fought to perfect our Union, and we continue our work to build a society where every child grows up knowing that their country supports them, is proud of them, and has a place for them exactly as they are.'

SOURCE: GAY STAR NEWS

JUNE [2K15] BEGINNINGS..