Thousands March In Taipei Taiwan Demanding Gay Rights And Protections, Anti-Gay Ugandan Lobby Announces it Opposes Anti-Homosexuality Bill Because It Is “Unrealistic And Diversionary,” Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil For Victims Of Leicester Pub Attack, Majority Of Those Polled Favour Marriage Equality In New Jersey, Ellen DeGeneres Says She Is A “Funny Woman Who Happens To Be Gay,” Conan O’Brien To Officiate On-Air Same Sex Wedding Of Staffers

Thousands of gay rights supporters have marched through Taiwan’s capital, calling for increased tolerance and the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation. The Associated Press reports that the Saturday event is the ninth annual gay rights parade in Taipei, which has one of Asia’s most vibrant gay communities. The parade has attracted gays from around the world, with many marchers dressing up as prom queens, zombies or sumo wrestlers. About a dozen men and women marched behind a Malaysian flag, deploring the absence of gay rights in the mostly Muslim country. Ming Yueh of Kuala Lumpur said, “We hope to learn from Taiwan so we can help our friends back home.” Parade organizers called for legislation to wipe out deep-rooted gay discrimination in Asian cultures.

A Ugandan lobby group that opposes homosexuality is challenging a 2009 Bill that proposes the death penalty for gays. The National Coalition Against Homosexuality and Sexual Abuse in Uganda says the "Bill is unrealistic and also diversionary,” according to The Africa Report. NCAHSA's remarks follows reports that the MPs want debate on the Bill to be resurrected by Uganda's parliament. Pastor Solomon Male, the NCAHSA leader said the proposed new law was unnecessary because there were enough instruments to deal with the issue. "Such MPs do not know what to do," Male said. "That bill is ill conceived. It cannot deal with homosexuality challenges in the country." He said the Penal Code already imposes a 14 year jail term for people convicted of practicing homosexuality. "The death penalty is useless. In Uganda the last time someone sentenced to death was killed was in 1999. Many of those sentenced to death for various offences are not killed," Male said. He added that although the existing laws were sufficient they could not be applied consistently because of corruption in the police force and the judiciary. The Bill among other things makes it mandatory for Ugandans to report homosexuals to the police. It has been roundly condemned by the international community. 
The author of the Bill, MP David Bahati MP insisted that parliament must pass it into law."We have to protect our children against homosexuality," he said. "We also have to maintain our cultural values." But Ugandan gay activist Kasha Jacqueline says the lives of many are in “danger,” adding that "We are often harassed and abused by some people."A gay student, Simon Kafulu also asserts that gay people live in "fear,” saying "We do not want people to know us. Some people can even kill us if they know that we are gay."

A candlelit vigil was held last night outside a pub where two men suffered horrific burns in an attack earlier this week. The Leicester Telegraph reports that people gathered outside the Rainbow & Dove, a popular straight-friendly gay bar in Charles Street, Leicester city centre, to show their support for the two men. The pair, aged 20 and 21, remained in hospital in Nottingham yesterday, one with extremely serious burns to his face and upper body. The second man was burned on the hand and forearm. And although the pub is popular with the gay community, the attack is not being treated as a homophobic hate crime. About 200 people took part in the vigil, which was led by a senior clergyman with songs performed by the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir. James Cockerill, owner of the pub, said, "I believe this vigil will allow the broad lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and citizens of the city, to show their support and prove Leicester is truly the diverse city which it is held up to be." James Mann, chairman of the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir, which sang You'll Never Walk Alone, said, "The victims are friends of many of us, and we were determined to lend our support to say that such a crime must not happen again." Police are continuing their investigation into the attack, which happened in the pub's beer garden at 12:40 am on Tuesday. Police believe the men were sprayed with an unidentified flammable liquid, which then ignited. Officers have released on bail a man who was arrested in connection with the attack earlier this week. The vigil, which began at 9:00 pm, was supported by the city council and police, whose detectives were present in the hope of finding witnesses.

Fifty-two percent of New Jersey voters believe same sex marriages should be legal, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Friday. Support for legalizing same sex marriage jumps to 61-percent when the issue is framed in terms of “marriage equality,” the favoured description of advocates for same-sex couples. Almost four-in-10 respondents (or 39-percent) oppose legalizing same sex marriage while 9-percent are unsure. 27-percent are against marriage equality, while 3-percent are unfamiliar with the term and 9-percent have no opinion. “Support for legalizing same-sex relations in New Jersey continues to be solid,” said poll Director David Redlawsk, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. “Young people are overwhelmingly in favour, though a majority of all age groups is supportive, except for those 65 and over. Whatever it is called, support for state recognition of same-sex marriage remains strong and most likely will grow over time.”

Ellen DeGeneres graces the Halloween issue of Parade magazine and inside says that coming out in 1997 initially jeopardized her career. “I didn’t work, didn’t have any money,” the 53-year-old says. “No one [in the business] would even talk to me on the phone.” It was a tough road back, but with the outline of her talk show in hand, she finally convinced Hollywood that she was “not just gay,” she says, but “a funny woman who happens to be gay.” To the execs who passed on her show because “they thought housewives and mothers would have nothing to relate to,” DeGeneres has a message, backed up by eight years of success: “The only person the word gay matters to is the person I love.”

Conan O’Brien plans to celebrate his one-year anniversary with TBS in a big way. To celebrate his growing relationship with TBS, he’ll help bring another couple into the next phase of their relationship by officiating a same sex wedding on Conan. The late-night host will officiate a wedding on-air during an episode next week, a representative for the show confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The wedding will take place in New York. It’s not just any wedding, however – O’Brien will officiate the wedding of one of his long-time staffers and his partner. This opportunity would not have even been available to O’Brien even a couple years ago. New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage last June. Conan debuted on TBS on November 8, 2010.