The LGBT community has sharply increased both its presence and its influence at Netroots Nation, the annual gathering of bloggers and activists that draws top Congressional Democrats and progressive media.

The conference, which is underway in Las Vegas this week, has attracted some 2,000 attendees, with a record number attending an LGBT caucus meeting this afternoon.

LGBT bloggers say they’re heartened by the number of straight allies and allied groups discussing issues like marriage equality and employment non-discrimination, especially this week.  At the LGBT caucus meeting and at an earlier panel on LGBT issues, many of those present wanted to delve deeper into a discussion of how the community can more effectively engage allied communities such as labor, Latinos and women’s groups.

Arshad Hasan of Democracy for America said, “LGBT civil rights are becoming a major issue, a flagship issue for the larger progressive movement.”  DFA isn’t a gay organization issue, Hasan said, but organizing around marriage equality fights, for example, has become one of the group’s most popular issues.

Thomas Saene of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund said Latinos and the LGBT community have much in common, and MALDEF is insisting that the Obama administration and Congress include LGBT families in comprehensive immigration reform efforts.

Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, echoed the need to engage Latinos.  ”The community is primed for engagement.  They’re ready for fairness.  The commonalities are there.  The language of families.  The notion of commitment, fair play and justice…We need to have these conversations,” Wolfson said.

Gregory King of AFSCME and Pride at Work, said national labor leaders, such as the new head of the United Mine Workers, have recently pledged to work on marriage equality issues and pledged to place more openly LGBT workers on area labor councils.

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who is openly gay and running for Congress against Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., visited the caucus meeting, but it was also attended by Krystal Ball, a straight ally and the Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District.