A federal judge Friday blocked Oregon's new domestic partnership law for gays and lesbians from taking effect next week, allowing opponents to continue their efforts to try to get voters to overturn the law.

The surprise ruling comes four days before the law would allow gay couples to gain most of the same legal benefits of marriage. Couples across Oregon were planning to show up at county offices Wednesday to register as partners.

But U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman ruled that they will have to wait. He set a Feb. 1 hearing to decide a lawsuit challenging the state's methods for verifying signatures on a November 2008 referendum.

Mosman said attorneys for opponents showed that the rights of voters may have been violated if their signatures were wrongly rejected. Setting the next hearing in a month reduces the harm to people who would be affected by the new law, he said.

Supporters of the new law were stunned at the judge's decision.



"It's unfortunate that families are once again bearing the brunt of this ongoing struggle," said Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon. "This is a long term movement for equality in Oregon. ... In this case, I still believe we will prevail."



In a survey on its Web site, Basic Rights Oregon counted 526 couples who said they planned to register for domestic partnerships. Multnomah County was bracing for as many as 200 couples seeking domestic partnerships on Wednesday.

The ruling does not affect another state law going into effect next week that bans discrimination against gay residents in work, housing and public places.

Opponents are a group that opposes gay rights and fought against the law during the Legislature earlier this year, calling it an attempt to thwart the 2004 statewide vote that rejected gay marriage.

--- Suzanne Pardington