Federal Conservative Justice Critic Vic Toews says it is illegal to force marriage commissioners in Manitoba to perform same-sex marriages. “[Commissioners] should not be compelled to choose between his or her faith and the official functions that they’re carrying out,” the longtime Manitoba MP told CKY News in Winnipeg. CTV

Organizers of the United States' first national gay and lesbian conference since last week's presidential election say resounding voter passage of gay marriage bans in 11 states has been hard to bear, leaving members devastated and fearful. CNN.com

Three Minnesota high school students Wednesday were charged in an attack last week on another student who said only gays would vote for Sen. John Kerry. 365Gay.com

A group of advocates for gay and lesbian rights says it is still weighing a response to a new North Dakota constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Supporters of the ban say they expect it to withstand any challenge. Larry Peterson, a spokesman for Equality North Dakota, which opposed the measure approved by 73 percent of voters in this month’s election, said a court challenge is an option but the group has no immediate plans for a lawsuit. Grand Forks Herald

Six months after gay and lesbian couples won the right to marry in Massachusetts, opponents of same-sex marriage struck back, with voters in 11 states approving constitutional amendments making marriage an exclusively heterosexual institution. Windy City Times

Calling it a biblical issue, a state lawmaker proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would bar recognition of gay marriage. Rep. Warren Chisum said he hoped that the amendment would send a message to Congress that Texans support a similar amendment on the federal level. Star-Telegram

Lawsuits in several states take aim at overturning new laws prohibiting gay marriage. Gay rights activists contend that many of the ballot initiatives passed on Election Day are unconstitutional. National Public Radio

The 2004 election has been chalked up as major loss for the progressive agenda. Many blame gay marriage, partial birth abortion, and Hollywood for the fiasco. There is talk about the gay liability. Specifically, we are told that events like a rogue San Francisco mayor defying state law or the New Jersey governor being caught in a web of corruption, caused the American heartland to return to the arms of George Bush and the Rovian machine. This is a flawed analysis. Gay Financial Network

Rep. Nancy Hollister, a Republican who is moderate on social issues, was defeated by a Democrat who criticized her vote against the state law banning gay marriage. Hollister said Ohio has banned same-sex unions since 1824 and another law wasn’t needed. Akron Beacon Journal

President Bush’s chief political adviser, Karl Rove, said that opposition to gay marriage was one of the most powerful forces in American politics today and that politicians ignored it at their peril. “This is an issue on which there is a broad consensus,” Mr. Rove said, discussing a presidential election that took place as voters in 11 states backed constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriages. The New York Times

A poll has revealed that Italians are clearly opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage, as well as adoption by gay couples. LifeSite

A lesbian couple who wed in Canada can seek to have their union legally recognised in Ireland, a judge ruled in a case he predicted would have deep consequences for this predominantly Catholic country. News24.com

As promised, gay-rights supporters filed a lawsuit seeking to throw out a same-sex marriage ban voted into Georgia’s constitution. They say the amendment should be thrown out because of misleading language. Voters were asked only if they wanted to define marriage as between a man and a woman, not whether they wanted to ban civil unions. The measure passed 3-to-1 on November 2, winning with huge margins among almost every demographic. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Florida Baptists unanimously gave their blessing Tuesday to a resolution calling for state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The Miami Herald

A bill that would make same-sex marriage legal in California will be one of the first items on the agenda when the new session of the state Assembly convenes, says the man who wrote the legislation. Assemblymember Mark Leno tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he is not concerned that all eleven states which had constitutional bans on the ballot last week passed the measures. 365Gay.com

President Bush put a ban on gay marriage at the heart of the campaign’s values debate, declaring on the campaign trail in Iowa last month, “I believe marriage is a sacred commitment…and I will defend it.” But last summer the proposed constitutional ban died in Congress when opponents in the senate blocked a vote. Now after Bush’s reelection there is new pressure to try again. MSNBC

The New York State Bar Association would advocate gay marriage legislation under a proposal put together by a closely divided special panel. The 380-page report underscores the divisive debate over how to recognize the equal protection and due process rights of same-sex couples. It traces the legal and historical traditions of marriage and civil liberties and concludes that homosexual couples are denied many of the rights and privileges afforded to heterosexuals. Nine of the 12 members of the Special Committee to Study Issues Affecting Same Sex Couples agree that the Legislature should enact comprehensive legislation to ensure equal protection for gays and straights. Five of them would extend civil marriage benefits to gay couples. Four support equal benefits for homosexual relationships but would not take a position on the specific remedy. New York Lawyer

At a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers in Brussels November 2, Slovakia unilaterally declared that it would not recognise gay marriages conducted in other EU member countries, according to the TASR news wire. The Slovak Spectator

The battle over gay marriage is about to heat up in Texas, less than a week after a Presidential election decided largely on “values” issues. State Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) is poised to introduce a state constitutional amendment that would define legal marriage in Texas as a union between a man and a woman, and would ban gay marriage. Gay rights groups call Chisum’s proposal “mean spirited and discriminatory” and promise to fight it. WOAI News

In deconstructing the Democratic Party’s Election Day failure, a number of fingers have been pointing to the push for same-sex marriage. But some activists argue otherwise. The New York Times