Real same-sex couples and families have been having their say on why gay marriage is important - and we think their videos are a must-see.

While religious extremists have been spouting hate against same-sex marriage equality, it's often the real-life stories of love, committment and family which get lost.

The Out4Marriage video campaign is turning into an amazing opportunity to change all that and hundreds of people have already posted their messages onto YouTube, explaining why they want the law changed - from politicians and celebrities to the public.

For the first time in history, an Italian party has said ‘yes’ to same-sex marriage.

The move came from Antonio Di Pietro, leader of Italia dei Valori (Italy of Values), early this morning (15 May).

His stance has been relaunched on the IDV’s website by gay activist and member of regional party of Emilia-Romagna for IDV party, Franco Grillini.

Grillini said: ‘Our party has been the first in Italy to follow US president Barack Obama. We invite other Italian parties to support gay marriage. You don’t have to be shy, you have to say yes.’

The gay partner of a dead Catholic priest has been told he is allowed to have his lover's pension - despite the cleric's vow of chastity.

The Constitutional Court of Colombia found in favor of the partner, who lived with the priest for 28 years before his death in 2009, in  landmark ruling, unprecedented in the history of Colombia and possibly Latin America.

Cuba's first daughter Mariela Castro has once again voiced her support for legalizing gay marriage.

As early as January 2012, Castro revealed she backed policies by the Cuban government to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Her latest comments follow US President Barack Obama's message supporting gay marriage, making him the first sitting president in US history to do so.

Reaction was quick to flood in Wednesday (9 May) after Barack Obama became the first sitting US president in history to publicly support gay marriage.

The recently elected President of France François Hollande is expected to legalise gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples by early next year.

Defeating Nicolas Sarkozy by fewer than 52% of the vote in Sunday’s run-off election, Hollande made several promises to the public during the presidential race.

Hollande capitalised on France’s economic troubles promising solutions and Sarkozy’s unpopularity with the liberal public.

The second day of the senate's hearing into legalising same-sex marriage heard conflicting views from psychologists and Christians.

Representatives of the Australian Psychological Society told the hearing in Melbourne that there is a direct link between allowing same-sex couples to marry and better mental health for same-sex attracted people.

Dr Fiona Barlow from the University of Queensland said:

Britain will continue fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights around the globe despite a backlash for some countries.

That's the pledge the Foreign and Commonwealth Office gave Gay Star News as it released an annual report on human rights.

The report on human rights and democracy was launched by foreign minister William Hague and has an LGBT section.

It outlines some of the activities and diplomatic positions taken by the foreign office in 2011 to protect and promote global LGBT rights.

Republicans in Missouri continue to defend legislation that will ban state schools from dicussing sexual orientation.

The controversial 'don't say gay' bill will prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation throughout the public school system 'except in scientific instruction on human reproduction'. Discussions about sexual orientation would also be excluded from extracurricular activities.

It doesn't look good for gay marriage in Illinois. Despite the efforts of LGBT lawmakers, a same-sex marriage bill will probably not be voted on this year.

The bill was introduced in the state legislature on 8 Feb. However, it remains  stalled in the House Rules Committee.

Activist Peter Tatchell has compared Australia's ban on same-sex unions to apartheid.

In a letter submitted to the country's senate inquiry on gay marriage, which closed on Monday (2 April), he urged politicians not to 'fob' gay couples off with UK-style civil partnerships.

The human rights campaigner claims most gay and lesbian people in Britain regret not pushing for full marriage equality earlier and called Australian politicians who are in favor of a similar system 'hypocritical'.

San Francisco’s federal immigration court put a deportation case on hold today (23 March) for a gay undocumented immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, according to the couple's attorney.

Alfonso Garcia, a 35-year-old Mexican native who moved to the United States with his parents in his mid-teens, and his 37-year-old husband Brian Willingham are petitioning the federal immigration service for legal residency based on their marriage, the CNN cited attorney Lavi Soloway as saying.