Family
organization petitioning to overturn Oregon gay rights laws

Two new Oregon gay rights laws, set to go into effect January 1, will likely see suspension until November 2008 if a rapidly growing protest group has its way, according to an Associated Press article.

This spring, the Oregon legislature passed laws that ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and grant same-sex couples many benefits of marriage through legal domestic partnerships.

However, the antigay group Defense of Family and Marriage Again, headed by former Oregon senator Marilyn Shannon, is collecting signatures to overturn the new laws. According to Shannon in the article, the group is having "awesome" success. If the group garners 55,179 signatures by September 26, the measures will be suspended until they can be voted on in the next presidential election.

"We've got 15,000 petitions out there and we're printing more. I'm willing to predict that Oregonians will vote on this in 2008," Shannon said in the article. (The Advocate)