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Lance Bass' Drive for Gay Marriage Rights

Thu., Nov. 6, 2008 11:10 AM PST by Marc Malkin

AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

From Dancing With the Stars to getting mobbed by protestors marching through Hollywood for gay rights, Lance Bass had quite an evening last night.

After holding on to his spot on DWTS' elimination show (Susan Lucci got the boot), the openly gay former boy-bander happened to be driving along Sunset Boulevard in L.A.

It's unclear whether he knew what was going on, but he quickly found himself smack in the middle of about 5,000 people (yes, I was one of them) who were protesting the passage of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that has overturned the state Supreme Court ruling which legalized same-sex unions.

"He drove by, rolled down his window and started honking his horn to start shouting with the crowd," an eyewitness reported. "The minute he did that, he got swarmed by people wanting a handshake or a picture."

While Bass didn't get out of his car to join the traffic-stopping protest, other celebs were clearly there as part of the action. Spotted in the crowd were Wanda Sykes, Ricki Lake, Rose McGowan and DWTS alum Stacy Keibler. E!'s own Debbie Matenopoulos also drove by and honked her horn in support.

At one point, hundreds gathered in front of the CNN building on Sunset Boulevard to stage an impromptu sit-in.

Similar protests were held in cities throughout California, including San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento.