Marriage equality advocates have welcomed the Greens’ move to have a marriage equality bill voted on before the election.

The latest Essential poll showing the majority of Australians support marriage equality, regardless of which party they vote for, has prompted the Greens to renew calls for a conscience vote on the issue.

Calls for opposition leader Tony Abbott to allow a conscience vote on same-sex marriage have been renewed following Prime Minister Julia Gillard's comment that Abbott should give his fellow members the "courtesy" of a free vote.

It’s heartening to see marriage equality moving forward in countries like France, Uruguay and, most recently, New Zealand.

The number of people in Julia Gillard’s new Cabinet who support same-sex marriage outnumber those who oppose it by two to one, a statistic equality advocates say reflects the views of the general community.

Marriage equality advocates have welcomed Hillary Clinton’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, saying Australia’s leaders are increasingly “out of step”.

Marriage equality advocates have congratulated federal Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer for announcing her support for same-sex marriage.

Advocates and activists from the LGBTI community have largely welcomed the recommendations of a Senate committee looking at the Federal Government’s proposed national anti-discrimination laws, with the committee suggesting religious exemptions be tightened for service providers, protections be strengthened for transgender people and that intersex people receive specific inclusion under any new legislation.

Marriage equality advocates have called for LGBTI couples across Australia to send in submissions to the NSW parliament’s inquiry into proposed state same-sex marriage legislation as the current draft bill will preclude such couples from interstate marrying in the state.

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich will later today introduce a motion in NSW Parliament that “condemns” the Australian Christian Lobby’s attacks on the gay community which he hopes will lead to more politicians distancing themselves from the right-wing, anti-gay, fundamentalist Christian group.

Finance Minister Penny Wong has been selected as Labor’s Deputy Leader in the Federal Senate after a cabinet and frontbench reshuffle sparked by a number of retirements following Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to hold the next election in mid-September.

Australian Marriage Equality national convenor Rodney Croome has praised US President Barack Obama's second inauguration speech, saying his support for full equality for LGBTI people has thrown down the gauntlet for Australia's political leaders to do the same.

Beyondblue has given its backing to new social media guidelines announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and has urged Twitter to also agree to the Federal Government’s complaints-handling scheme for social networking sites in a bid to reduce cyber bullying.

As a Senate committee prepares to hold public hearings in Sydney this week on Labor's draft national anti-discrimination laws, there’s growing outrage within the LGBTI community and elsewhere over the wide-ranging exemptions offered to religious bodies and other groups that will allow them to continue to legally discriminate against people on several grounds including sexual orientation and gender identity.

South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the momentum for marriage reform is unstoppable.