The six men arrested by police working with an organized mob in last week’s anti-gay pogrom have been released by Kenyan police, who said there was insufficient evidence to charge them with sodomy, punishable in Kenya by a 14-year prison sentence. Now, police are advising the men – at least one of whom is merely a security guard at an HIV/AIDS clinic targeted by the mob – to leave the seaside town of Mtwapa “for their safety.” A large rally is planned for Saturday, called by the same religious leaders who organized the riots. The Advocate and the Box Turtle Bulletin both report that LGBT people throughout Kenya have gone into hiding or are preparing to flee their homes at a moment’s notice.

Elsewhere…

D.C. – Falwell’s spawn decides they can be in the same room at CPAC with LGBT group and CPAC co-sponsor GOProud, after all. CNN checks in with NOM (who happens to have a booth two spots down from GOProud), and lets them get away with sounding oh-so-decent. In their haste to appear objective and balanced, they missed Maggie Gallagher’s whining about how true conservatism wouldn’t make religious people tolerate gays. Maybe she should move to Uganda. (Joe.My.God, Mother Jones, Towleroad, DC Agenda)

D.C. – Now that Evan Bayh is retiring in a snit, there’s a mad rush to get Democratic candidates on the ballot. The National Stonewall Democrats want an LGBT-friendly candidate to represent the former stronghold of the KKK, instead of the Blue Dog currently on offer from the state Democratic Party. But from the farms comes a dark horse riding high…John Mellencamp? No word on Mellencamp’s LGBT credentials, but he’s a big fan of Obama. (DC Agenda, AP)

Utah – Utah legislators want to use MLK day to honor the civil rights leader gunned down in a Memphis motel while supporting striking city garbage collectors…and gun maker John Browning’s contributions to “U.S. wars against tyranny and partially responsible for the continued freedom that allowed King to do his work.”. But don’t worry: King was assassinated with a Remington rifle, not a weapon made by Browning’s company, so it’s not crass or racist, or anything like that. (The Salt Lake Tribune, via AmericaBlog)

Louisiana –A gay New York couple adopting a boy from Louisiana get to list both their names as parents on the child’s birth certificate! (Joe.My.God)

Michigan – Two divorced LGBT rights groups are getting back together. (The Advocate)

Vancouver – They NY Times visits “Pride House” at the Olympic village. Organizers are trying to point out that yes, wunderkinder can still be homophobic. (NYT)