SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico residents opposing a newly enacted anti-discrimination law that wouild protect GLBT citizens have switched their strategy and dropped an attempt to block the law from taking effect on July 1.

Instead, the focus will be on gathering enough signatures on petitions by July 2004 to force a referendum on the law — giving voters an opportunity to repeal it in the November general election.

Pam Wolfe of Las Cruces, New Mexico, who is organizing the referendum drive, said there wasn’t adequate time to gather enough petition signatures to prevent the law from taking effect pending a referendum. Petitions started to circulate last month.

However, petition organizers may encounter a new legal hurdle. Questions have been raised by a state legislator whether the Constitution’s referendum provision applies to the gay rights law. The Constitution exempts certain types of laws from being overturned by a vote of the people.

To put the anti-discrimination law on hold — until a referendum at the next general election — would have required petitions with more than 125,000 signatures to be submitted by June 27 to the secretary of state’s office.

Wolfe said in a telephone interview that she wasn’t certain of the number of signatures that had been collected. Some petitions are still being mailed to organizers, she said, and others need additional information about signers, such as their voting precinct, to make them valid.

“My guess is we don’t have the 125,000,” said Wolfe.

The target of the petition campaign is a measure passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson that will make it illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in matters of employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and union membership.

The new law takes effect July 1. It broadens the state’s Human Rights Act so that anti-discrimination protections cover sexual orientation and gender identity.

A provision in the state constitution allows citizens to annul a newly enacted law by putting a repeal question on the ballot in the next general election. There are two options for doing that.

To prevent the law from taking effect pending a referendum is the most difficult approach. That requires signatures totaling at least 25 percent of the state’s 2002 general election turnout.

If the law takes effect — as will happen with the gay rights measure — a repeal referendum still can be forced at the next general election by gathering signatures totaling at least 10 percent of the 2002 election turnout. That would require more than 50,000 signatures, which must be submitted to the secretary of state at least four months before the November 2004 election.

Rep. Gail Beam (D-Albuquerque), one of the main backers of the anti-discrimination measure, said she has asked the attorney general for a legal opinion about how the referendum provision works and whether it would apply to the new anti-discrimination law.

Exempted from the Constitution’s referendum provision are general appropriations laws, “laws providing for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety,” laws providing for the payment of public debts and maintenance of public schools or state institutions.

There also is a question about the petition requirement because the referendum provision refers to “qualified electors” and votes cast in the general election.

Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for the Coalition for Equality in New Mexico, said the 10 percent signature requirement should apply to total voter registration in New Mexico — a traditional meaning of “qualified electors” under state election law — rather than voter turnout. That approach would nearly double the signature requirement.