The measure - which has twice been rejected in the Lords - was given an unopposed second reading by peers on Tuesday night.
Opponents of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, which would reduce the age of consent from 18 to 16 for gay men, decided not force a vote on the issue in order to leave open the possibility of frustrating the bill's progress in the future.
But by avoiding that step, the Bill's opponents have further chances to voice their opposition at the bill's committee and report stages.
'Intolerant society'
Reducing the age of consent for gay men - which was backed by MPs in February - would end the anomaly that heterosexuals can consent to sex at 16 while gay men have to wait until 18.
The plans were introduced after a ruling that the existing law was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Opening the debate, Attorney General Lord Williams said an unequal age of consent was a mark of an "intolerant society".
But he said the government would consider extending safeguards to protect youngsters who might be liable to abuse from people in positions of trust to cover Scout and Guide leaders, youth workers, step-parents and baby-sitters.
But Tory Baroness Young, who has led opposition to the bill, said the government's threat to use the Parliament Act was "a parliamentary disgrace".
Section 28
And Conservative front-bencher Baroness Blatch said the government's proposed "position of trust" safeguards were "very feeble and deeply flawed".
However, Lord Alli, the only openly gay peer, said: "This is not about whether 16 or 18 is the right age for sexual activity - it's about the abolition of discrimination, it's about supporting young people, young vulnerable men in our society."
Meanwhile, ministers have again vowed to repeal Section 28, which bans the promotion of homosexuality in schools.
Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong said councils should have the freedom to decide how to "address the needs of the gay community".
The Local Government Bill, which includes plans to abolish Section 28, passed its second Commons reading - following its defeat in the Lords in February.
Shadow environment secretary Archie Norman said the government's determination to repeal Section 28 showed "their determination not to listen and to put political correctness over the fears of parents and community leaders".
While ministers had threatened to use the Parliament Act to push the age of consent measure through the Lords, the same act cannot be used to repeal Section 28 because the legislation began its current parliamentary passage in the upper house.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has side-stepped questions on the Bill's future if the Lords were to reject when it returns to them later in the year.