HOBART, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA – The Tasmanian House of Assembly voted last week to become the first Australian state to formally support same-sex marriage. It vowed to put pressure on the Australian federal government to change its law claiming that it was time for the federal government to provide marriage equality for all Australians, regardless of gender or sexuality.

Motions of support for marriage equality have been passed by the Labor Party  in Queensland, West Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Northern Territory. But Prime Minister Julia  Gillard has expressed her support for retaining the current definition of the country’s Marriage Act.