Details are still a bit scarce as it’s not been “officially” announced yet but there’s a consultation on Marriage Equality in the works – most likely being announced by Lynne Featherstone MP this morning. (Possibly even right now) I don’t know exact timetables, but the Guardian hints at the consultation starting in May which would point towards something hitting parliament in 2012, in line with what I’ve heard elsewhere. Amusingly and hypocritically, it seems this is “painfully slow” for Stonewall’s Ben Summerskill, whose organisation was largely against marriage equality until just a few months ago.

Timetables aside, I do have a good idea of what is in the consultation and it’s includes everything I believe has been campaigned for, which is a good signal for eventually getting some very positive changes to the law. Much of the detail of this has been ignored by the mainstream media of course, because they’re just reporting “Gay Marriage!”

Covering the T angle first, there will be a fix for the current situation where Trans folk need to annul their marriages to get a Gender Recognition Certificate. As well as the emotional drain, (Yes, you can re-marry, but it’s still significant) this is currently particularly problematic for a number of people because they are unable to access their state pension without a GRC and can lose some private pension rights if they do “divorce”!

It’s also likely that there will be a way for existing Civil Partnerships to be converted into marriages and vice-versa, so anyone that’s already gone down the route of a Civil Partnership can get it “fixed”.

And for the rest of the non-Trans community – LGBT and heterosexual alike – it’s much as predicted. Access to Civil Partnerships for opposite-sex couples, access to Marriage for same-sex couples and allowing civil partnerships in church. This last point pleases me, not because I’m particularly religious but because elements of the religious right were effectively stifling other religious groups – such as the Quakers, who we heard much from at the Liberal Democrat conference debate no the topic last year – who did want to be able to offer civil partnerships full marriage to couples, regardless of gender. This was despite the fact that no religion is being forced to conduct ceremonies if they don’t want to.

It’s not unknown for governments to change their minds after consultation – that’s why it’s a consultation – but I’m encouraged by the announcement. The Conservatives already know they are going to get attacked by the more homophobic elements of the right wing press for this and would not have let it get this far if they did not expect to see it on the statute books.