An Oregon gay rights group is correcting media reports that it will launch an effort in the fall to put the state's constitutional gay marriage ban up for a vote.

On Top Magazine was among the outlets reporting that Basic Rights Oregon will begin collecting signatures in October for a possible 2012 ballot campaign.

Shauna Ballo, the group's interim communications director, contacted us to clarify that the group will decide in the fall whether to move forward with the campaign, but no signatures will be collected until after the decision is made.

“Due to the deadlines set by the state to get a measure on the ballot, our timeline is to decide by the end of October whether we feel a 2012 ballot measure is viable,” Ballo wrote in an email. “At that point we'll make an announcement. By mid-November we'd need to turn in the first round of 1,000 'sponsorship' signatures to the secretary of state. She then has a few months to validate and certify a petition and cover letter for us to circulate. Once we get that back, we'd begin gathering signatures in earnest and submit them by July 2012. Then, those signatures are validated to determine if the measure gets on the ballot.”

Ballo did not say what criteria would be used to determine the measure's viability. Polling shows more voters in the state support gay marriage than oppose it, but not a majority. A Public Policy Polling survey in June found 48 percent of voters in favor and 42 percent against the legalization of such marriages.

Campaigners in Maine also hope to put a similar question on the ballot next year.