TACOMA, Wash. - A federal judge in Tacoma says he will decide by Sept. 10 whether the names of those who signed Referendum 71 will be made public.

The judge heard 90 minutes of arguments in the case Thursday afternoon. The referendum challenges Washington state's so-called "Everything but Marriage" law giving equal rights to gay and lesbian couples.

Attorney Sarah Troupis argued that releasing the names would subject those who signed signed the petitions to harassment and worse. She said it would have a chilling effect on constitutionally protected free speech and free association.

Jim Pharris, an assistant attorney general arguing for the state, told the judge that in Washington state, open government is prized and, on four of five occasions, all the names of people signing initiative petitions have been released - and that is standard practice for the state.

He says he does not believe that harassment rises to the level where the public's right to open government should be suspended.

The judge promised a decision on the question of releasing the signatures to the public within a week.

One man, Brian Murphy, says if the judge does release the signatures, he will immediately post them to the Web.

Murphy says lesbian and homosexual couples are subjected to discrimination constantly, and he does not believe that posting those signatures will create undue problems for those who signed the petitions.

The judge did release the signatures Thursday to a group called Washington Families Standing Together. That group filed suit in Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday alleging that the secretary of state certified the measure to the ballot despite that fact that thousands of signatures may not have met the state standards for verification.

Kevin Hamilton, the attorney for the group, told KOMO News that the judge's decision releasing the petitions to his group will be critical in preparing arguments in the Olympia case.

The federal judge instructed the attorneys that they could only use the signatures and petitions in preparation of that lawsuit and cannot release them to the public.

Meanwhile, the secretary of state says the arguments for and against Referendum 71 must be sent to the printer for the state's general election voter pamphlet no later than Sept. 10.

He says the court cases must be resolved by that time if the state's election schedule is to be met.