Oregonian gays greeted the new year with a good old fashioned vigil. Hundreds of people across the state gathered at Portland's community center Wednesday to protest a judge's domestic partner prohibition.

Via Oregon Live:

Basic Rights Oregon, the state's largest gay rights group, organized candlelight vigils in seven cities, including Corvallis and Pendleton. The group estimated attendance of more than 500 people in Portland, 300 in Eugene, 150 in Ashland, 120 in Bend and 70 in Salem.

The domestic partnership law, which was to take effect Wednesday, was blocked for at least a month by a federal judge Friday to give opponents a chance to make their case for referring it to voters.

Community leaders, elected officials, same-sex couples and supporters spoke at the vigils. In Portland, Jeana Frazzini, Basic Rights' new executive director, called the court ruling an outrage that will hurt gay and lesbian families.

"It was like a kick in the gut," she said. "It is a last-ditch effort to change the rules."

Or maybe it's the conservative establishment flexing their devolved muscle.