Brough said the decision to pull the bank's sponsorship was made after several Zions Bank officials Wednesday received anonymous phone calls from people saying the event supported gay marriage and that the Deseret Morning News was working on a report that Zions Bank supports gay marriage. The newspaper was not working on such a report.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of Utah Eagle Forum, applauded the phone calls but said anonymity isn't her style and she wasn't aware of any Eagle Forum members making such calls.

"Making phone calls is our style," said Ruzicka, known for her phone tree of citizen calls supporting conservative issues. "Making them aware that sponsor is in fact promoting gay rights, that is our style. . . . Whoever did it, good for them."

Michael Mitchell, executive director of Equality Utah, which is not involved in the HRC fund-raiser, said sponsorship decisions are the prerogative of private businesses. However, he called pulling the sponsorship "cowardly."

"The fact is there are a lot of gay and lesbian customers at Zions Bank, and several employees," he said. "It's a slap in the face. . . . I don't think (sponsorship) says they support gay marriage."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com