Hate Crime Vigil to Take Place in London on October 30

A vigil is set to take place in Trafalgar Square a week from Friday at 8pm in response to the hate crime murder of 62-year-old Ian Baynham:

"Mr Baynham's death, highlights the growing issue of homophobia in London, as the Metropolitan Police have reported an increase in homophobic hate crime. Over the past year, the number of attacks against gay men and women in London has risen nearly 20 per cent, and in a recent survey 90 per cent of the gay men and women questioned said they had experienced homophobic insults and abuse. The Vigil is also an opportunity to rembember the many victims of homophoia and hatred not only in London, but all over the world...The day of the vigil also marks the 5 year anniversary of the death of David Morley. David was a popular figure in London's Soho Community. He was a survivor of the Admiral Duncan nail bombing - the homophobic attack carried out by David Copeland, but was viciously beaten to death on London's South Bank by a gang of youths. Event organisers state that the aim of the vigil is to show the world that anti-sociable behaviour is unacceptable. The event organisers stress that the hate crime vigil is about everyone - lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, straight, highlighting that the attack on Ian Baynham was an attack 'on everyone’s right to walk through their city without fear of attack'."

London's Metropolitan Police have been accused of complacency by the head of UK gay rights group Stonewall, Ben Summerskill: "The Met has made progress in the past decade, but it is patting itself on the back and becoming complacent. Homophobic crime is often still not treated as seriously as other offences and our research has shown that 75 per cent of gay people don't have confidence in reporting incidents to the police."

Naked British Hunk is Official Spokesman for Turning Back Time

Robert Kazinsky, an actor in the British soap EastEnders, reminds Brits that it's almost time to turn the clocks back, offering some suggestions for how to use that extra hour they're about to gain.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Man Dead as Result of Anti-Gay Hate Crime in London

The BBC reports on the latest victim of homophobic violence in the UK, which happened just off Trafalgar Square in London:

"Ian Baynham, 62, was punched and kicked to the ground on 25 September. He suffered head injuries and died in hospital on Tuesday. A 30-year-old man who was with him suffered minor injuries. Police have started a murder inquiry and have appealed for information about CCTV images of two women who were in the area at the time. Officers said Mr Bayman (sic) and his friend were initially verbally abused by a woman as they got off a bus near Duncannon Street. He went to remonstrate with her but she and her two friends, a man and another woman, attacked him. The suspects were seen seated in the area before the assault at about 2245 BST. They are all described as being aged between 16 and 20 and the two females (seen above, in a surveillance photo) had blonde hair. The male was described as dark-skinned, about 5ft 8in tall (1.72m), with black hair."

Baynham and his friend had apparently taken the bus into London to enjoy a night out.

Ex-Husband of Comedian Matt Lucas Takes His Own Life

Kevin McGee (right), the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, reportedly hanged himself in his flat in Edinburgh after leaving a status update suicide note on Facebook that read, "Kevin McGee believes death is much better than life." He was found by police.

The Daily Mail reports: "McGee, a TV producer, is thought to have become deeply depressed over the past few months after breaking up with the comedian...Matt Lucas, 34, was said to be 'utterly destroyed' by the news and was being comforted by close friend and comedy partner David Walliams at his home in Marylebone, London. He was too devastated to comment last night and did not attend an awards ceremony where he and Walliams were due to make a guest appearance. He also pulled out of last night's performance of the West End play Prick Up Your Ears in which he is starring."

Lucas and McGee wed in a star-studded civil partnership ceremony in December 2006 and divorced in June 2008, in what was said to be the most high-profile divorce since same-sex civil partnerships began in the UK.

British Agency Pulls 'Fagot' and 'Dikes' License Plates from Auction

Two license plates have been pulled from an auction of personalized plates by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the UK:

"The two registrations – F4 GOT and D1 KES – were to have been among 1,600 auctioned at a sale this week. But Stonewall, the gay rights charity, objected to the DVLA profiting from the sale of the insulting numberplates and they were dropped from the auction, which is expected to raise £3.5million...Stonewall argued that F4 GOT – due to go under the hammer for at least £900 – could, when displayed on a car, be read as ‘FAGOT’, a derogatory term used to refer to gay men. Likewise, campaigners said, D1 KES could be read as ‘DIKES’ – similar to the insulting term ‘DYKES’ levelled at lesbians. That plate also had a £900 reserve. The registrations will still appear in the catalogue for the auction on Wednesday in a hotel in Broadway, Worcestershire. But when the lots come up the auctioneer will announce that they are no longer for sale. James Lawrence, of Stonewall, which is supported by a host of celebrities including comic Alan Carr, singer Dannii Minogue and ex-EastEnders star Michael Cashman, said last night: ‘It is regrettable that personalised numberplates that could clearly cause offence were made available."

News: Mormons, Liz Taylor, Football, Jane Lynch, Nero, Frat Boys

Where Did 'We' Go? Thomas Friedman pens a frightening op-ed about assassination and the current political climate in the U.S. "The American political system was, as the saying goes, 'designed by geniuses so it could be run by idiots.' But a cocktail of political and technological trends have converged in the last decade that are making it possible for the idiots of all political stripes to overwhelm and paralyze the genius of our system."

NYT on Hair's decision to go dark and perform at the National Equality March: "That unusual — and expensive — decision to skip a popular weekend performance at the beginning of the theater season originated with the show’s star, Gavin Creel. 'I said, ‘My God, we have to go, we have to go,’' Mr. Creel recalled when he first heard about the rally late last spring."

For Elizabeth Taylor, too much Kathy Ireland is never enough.

NFL players Brendon Ayanbadejo and Scott Fujita speak out for gay rights. Ayanbadejo: "I think we will look back in 10, 20, 30 years and be amazed that gays and lesbians did not have the same rights as every one else. How did this ever happen in the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are we really free?"

VIDEO: Adam Lambert thanks fans for raising $229,000 for public school art programs.

University of Alaska allows "ex-gay" speaker Edward Delgado: "Jim Minnery, president of the Alaska Family Council, said Chancellor Brian Rogers refused to bar Delgado from the campus, adding he wants a 'welcoming and inclusive university.'"

First look: T.R. Knight in Parade.

A sneak peek at Kylie Minogue's tour.

Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City installs sign to prevent future instances of man-on-man kissing on LDS property.

New Barney Frank bio ignores his personal life: "Those of you seeking an in-depth study of a fascinating and very, very funny political creature midcareer should buy it. Cokie Roberts and Nancy Pelosi blurbed it nicely. Anyone looking for full insights into the private man might want to wait."

Archaeologists uncover Roman Emperor Nero's rotating dining room. "The mechanism was a feat of Roman engineering, and moved thanks to the spheres beneath the wooden floor of the room, kept in constant movement by water being forced against them. Quite how this worked is still being researched."

AfterElton interviews Jane Lynch, Glee's Sue Sylvester.

Brazilian beauties decorate Junior.

Eddie Cibrian gives fans what they want on CSI.

Gay man's attacker gets 4 1/2 years in the UK: "Andrew Harris, aged 21, launched the violent attack upon a gay man after agreeing to go home with him following a night out drinking in Northampton town centre. Despite flirting with his victim and going into his bedroom, Harris suddenly turned violent, shouting 'I'm not gay'."

Friday Night Lights returning with some fresh meat.

English cricketer Kevin Pietersen signs on as Brylcreem Boy.

Frat brothers at George Washington University are trying to take the homophobia out of Greek life: "GW’s fraternity brothers are the nation’s future congressmen, investment bankers, and CEOs. They won’t reach those positions if their Google profiles turn up associations with homophobic and misogynistic fraternities. So GW’s frat boys—and don’t call them that!—are straining to undo the legacy of 'aggressive heterosexuality' and gay-bashing forged by their predecessors. It’s an effort that involves a good deal of re-education, some new alliances, and a compensatory vice or two."