Gay members of parliament have spoken out on equal marriage in the second reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill today (5 February).

Put forward by culture secretary and equalities minister Maria Miller, the House of Commons is debating the bill before the vote later tonight.

Stephen Williams, a Liberal Democrat who was the first openly gay MP to serve Bristol, said: ‘I was born when homosexuality was still a criminal offense.

The LGBT rights movement in Singapore has been mainly dominated by gay men, but Gay Star News met Jean Chong of lesbian group Sayoni and discovered that sisters are doing it for themselves.

Did you have any role models when you were growing up as a lesbian in Singapore?

No, I always wished there were lesbian role models when I was growing up. There were so much confusion, silence and questions.

In most developing countries, gay men form LGBT rights groups first, encouraged by HIV and AIDS prevention funding. Thailand is unusual in that the first LGBT rights group, Anjaree, was formed by lesbians in 1987.

Anjana Suvarnananda, one of the founders of Anjaree tells Gay Star News why, when we meet her in Bangkok.

Why did lesbians form the first LGBT rights group in Thaliand?

Julia Hoggett’s job title is a mouthful and you probably need to be a banker to know what it means. But this understated mom is also a role model for gay women as a senior executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

When she’s not spending time with her partner and kids in Ireland, she’s ‘Managing director, head of short term fixed income origination, EMEA, head of covered bonds and FIG flow financing, EMEA’ (we told you) for the bank.

And when she’s not doing that, she’s co-lead of the company’s LGBT employee network.

Martina Navratilova is much more than the world’s best ever female tennis player.

She is also a champion for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights (as well as for animals and underprivileged children) and an icon and inspiration for millions of people around the world.

As London opens the 2012 Summer Olympics today (27 July) we reveal our exclusive interview with her, conducted at the Out and Equal Global Workplace Summit in the UK capital last month, where she was a keynote speaker.

British Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg has told lesbian and gay teenagers they should have the right to marry in church.

The Liberal Democrat leader made the comment at a brunch for LGBT youths ahead of World Pride in London today (7 July).

The event was hosted by Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaigning organization.

The Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government consulted the public over the last few months on introducing same-sex marriage in England and Wales.