First-ever gay rally in Singapore....

Progress in Singapore...

The gay community in tightly controlled Singapore held its first-ever rally Saturday, taking advantage of looser laws on public gatherings to call for equality.

About 2,500 participants wore pink clothing, played music and sang songs at a park known as Speaker's Corner, said organizer Pink Dot, which represents Singapore's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents.

"This is a great opportunity for us to make our pitch for the equal treatment of the LGBT community in Singapore," said Roy Tan, a Pink Dot spokesman.

Singapore's government has become more tolerant toward gays and lesbians in recent years, but sodomy is still illegal, Tan said.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told the state-owned New Paper on Friday that gay people "have a place in our society" but warned they must "not assert themselves stridently as gay groups do in the West."

I lived in Singapore for 3 1/2 years, and I can tell you that, despite the laws against homosexuality, it was one of the gayest places in Asia. The government is lagging far behind the people - I took gay boyfriends to company events and nobody cared...