PORTLAND, Ore.—A bid to overturn two Oregon gay-rights laws appears to be flagging, its backers say.

Chief petitioner Janice Bentson estimates that only 5,000 to 10,000 signatures have arrived at her Salem home.

The opponents have less than seven weeks to collect 55,179 valid signatures to refer the laws to voters in November 2008.

Bentson is part of a Salem-based political action committee, Defense of Marriage and Family Again, which opposes new laws creating domestic partnerships and banning discrimination against gays.

Other groups are collecting signatures, but they are working independently, even at odds with one another, said Jack Brown of Grants Pass, chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon.

The laws take effect Jan. 1. If opponents collect enough signatures, the laws would be suspended until the election.