Uganda Ethics Minister Lokodo Raids Gay Rights Conference In Entebbe, Scottish Activists Call On Government To Legalize Same Sex Marriage, Irish Protestors Call For Government To Allow Civil Marriages For All Regardless Of Sexual Orientation, Australian Actress Magda Szubanski Comes Out On National Television In Part To Protest Absence Of Marriage Equality In Country

At the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe Tuesday, the Ugandan State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo broke up a secret gay rights activist’s conference. The Daily Monitor reports that the two week conference organized by Freedom and Roam Uganda, an association that lobbies for the recognition of same sex relationships in Uganda ended prematurely when the minister ordered them to disperse. "I have closed this conference because it's illegal. We do not accept homosexuality in Uganda. So go back home," Minister Lokodo told the participants. Hotel staff had been asked by the organizers not to direct anyone to Elgon hall where the conference was taking place unless the person had been cleared. This would have required a phone call from the organizers. The Minister said the hotel’s management apologized for hosting the event. Lokodo ordered for the arrest of the organization leader, Jacquline Kasha, but she escaped. The two weeks residential conference attracted 30 participants and was supposed to close on February 14 with an evening barbecue at the hotel’s pool side. This incident arrives as a private members bill was recently tabled in Parliament by David Bahati that seeks to punish "aggravated homosexuality," and proposes the death sentence for someone deemed to be a "serial offender." Although homosexuality is illegal under the penal code, public assembly of gay persons is not a crime. But that would change once Bahati's bill is signed into law.

More than 1,000 proponents for same sex marriage have marched to Holyrood to urge the Scottish Government to change the law. The demonstration, which began on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, featured a giant Valentine's Day card to First Minister Alex Salmond. According to the UKPA, it contained the message: "Roses are white, thistles are blue, we believe in equal marriage and we hope the Scottish Government will too!" The event saw supporters from across Scotland, including the Equality Network, NUS Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland, join Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament as part of its Love Equally Campaign. Currently, same sex couples can enter into a civil partnership but cannot get married. The Scottish Government has already staged a consultation on whether the law should be changed and has said it "tends towards the view" that same sex-marriage should be introduced, but faith groups and their celebrants should not be obliged to solemnise the ceremonies. The march finished with a rally outside the Scottish Parliament, where the crowd was addressed by Scottish Youth Parliament chairman Grant Costello, SNP MSP Marco Biagi, Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Greens, and Marilyn Jackson, of the Humanist Society of Scotland. Costello said: "Scotland's young people are determined that the consultation is not the end, but just the beginning of the journey to a better nation with equality at its heart." Tom French, policy co-ordinator for the Equality Network, added: "With the backing of a majority of Scots and cross-party support in parliament, the Scottish Government now have all the backing they need to bring forward legislation to lift the ban on same sex marriage." A Scottish Government spokesperson said that, "The consultation on same sex marriage and registration of civil partnerships closed in early December. The Government will now analyse the responses and consider what next steps to take. The analysis of the responses will be published in the spring."

In Ireland, Campaign group LGBT Noise today gathered in Dublin to call on the Government to grant civil marriages to all in Ireland regardless of sexual orientation. “Unlike in many other jurisdictions, civil partnership does not afford equal rights to same-sex couples. It has been audited by a team of legal experts and they have identified 169 rights which are available in marriage which are absolutely prohibited in civil partnership,” said Max Krzyzanowski, Noise organiser. The Irish Times reports that decked out with hearts and rainbow colours, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group drew a crowd outside Leinster House today promoting their annual March for Marriage, set to take place on August 12th. The group, along with students from Trinity and UCD LGBT societies, gave out Valentine's Day-themed sweets and asked the Oireachtas to “have a heart” and grant marriage equality. The 2010 Civil Partnership Act made civil partnerships possible for same sex couples, affording them many of the same rights as spouses relating to tax, social welfare, pensions and inheritance. However, while civil partnership ceremonies have been taking place since April 2011, many crucial aspects of true equality were missing, said Noise. The rights of children of gay and lesbian couples were particularly of concern to the organization. “Children in same-sex families throughout the country are currently unable to form a legal bond with their second parent. This makes LGBT parents and the children of LGBT families second-class citizens,” Krzyzanowski said, adding, “I as a single gay person can adopt. But were I to civilly partner my boyfriend, we would not be able to adopt. We would instantly be rendered ineligible no matter how suitable we might be as parents.” In a statement from the Department of Justice, successive Attorneys General have said that it would likely be necessary to change the Constitution to make marriage available to same sex couples. The upcoming constitutional convention may, however, provide an opportunity for such a change to occur. “Among the issues for consideration, the convention will be considering changes which would allow for legislation for same sex marriage, if passed in a referendum,” the statement read.

In Australia, actress Magda Szubanski broke one of the entertainment world's worst-kept secrets last night when she came out on national television. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, appearing on the Ten Network's news and chat show The Project in support of the push to legalize gay marriage, Szubanski was introduced to rousing applause from the studio audience and almost broke down when talking about the pressures she had felt speaking openly could place on her career. "I absolutely identify as gay and for a very long time have," Szubanski said. However, she also offered a slightly more complex take on her sexuality. "I am absolutely not straight," she said. "I wouldn't define myself as bisexual either. I would say I am gay-gay-gay-gay-gay-gay-a little bit not gay-gay-gay-gay. Unfortunately there's not actually a word to describe me so I have to express myself through the medium of the dance." The 50-year-old comic actor said her family, friends and colleagues had known of her sexuality for years, but coming out publicly was not something she chose to do lightly. "There's a difference between living your life openly and living your life absolutely publicly, and that thing of 20 million people knowing your business is stressful," she said. The woman who famously signed on as an ambassador for weight-loss brand Jenny Craig in 2008 admitted she had been so stressed on Monday, when news of her impending announcement broke, that "I demolished a whole packet of Tim Tams.” Szubanski said she chose to come out on St Valentine's Day because "we live in a democracy and one in 10 people, which is the number of gay people, are not represented equally.” Saying she would understand if people wondered why she hadn't done it sooner, Szubanski implied she feared it would not have been good for her career. "I love my work," she said, choking up with emotion. "The thing is, you're forced into this position where you almost feel like you have to choose. I know you're going to ask would it have been hard. Of course it would have. It's so recent that things have changed. In my lifetime, in my adult lifetime [homosexuality] was illegal. Doors would be bashed down and they would be taken and prosecuted." Szubanski said any public perception that things were fine for gay people now was misguided. "There's a kind of velvet oppression going on. Younger people are killing themselves. It's not fine. This is a serious issue." Her coming out arrives the day after a Galaxy poll showed support for same sex marriage in Australia at 62-percent, with 81-percent of people aged 18 to 24 backing it.