Steve May grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but by 19 was no longer active and in 2001 he was excommunicated.

As a lifelong Republican, ex-Mormon, soldier in the U.S. Army and former member of the Arizona Legislature, the 32-year-old May is not your typical gay man in America.

On Saturday night, he stoked the fire for Utah's gay equality movement, which at the moment is fighting tooth and nail against a ballot measure that would amend Utah's Constitution to outlaw gay marriage and similarly formed civil unions of same sex couples.

At the downtown Hilton Hotel, May gave the keynote address for Equality Utah's annual fund-raising gala, which raised even more money for political opponents of Utah's Amendment 3 who already have a sizable bankroll. New reports show opponents of Amendment 3 have outraised proponents by more than $535,000 to $16,480.

But money doesn't always talk.

Recent Deseret Morning News polls show Utahns are supporting Amendment 3, 63 percent to 30 percent with only 7 percent undecided.

In an interview before his keynote address, May encouraged Republican members of the LDS Church, who dominate Utah politics, to vote against the amendment.

"Within Mormon theology there is the principle of free agency," May said. "It is not the duty of the individual members of the church to judge people outside the church or inside the church."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began as a persecuted church because many considered them a "peculiar" people with a strange set of beliefs, May said. The same is true of gay people today, he said.

"I would ask that they understand another peculiar people that they do not yet understand," he said.

It makes sense for LDS people to support gay marriage, May said. LDS people and LDS theology show a great support for marriage, and LDS apologists have stressed the importance of marriage for stability in the world.

"If you think marriage is important to society you shouldn't deny it to other people," he said.

Still, many conservative LDS Utahns disagree.

A Deseret Morning News poll that included 506 registered voters who consider themselves "very active" LDS Church members indicated that the group favors Amendment 3, 78 percent to 15 percent with 7 percent undecided. And such "very active" LDS Church members make up some 55 percent of registered voters in Utah, pollster Dan Jones has found.

But gay advocates with Equality Utah aren't giving up and will continue to try and persuade voters until the November general election. On Saturday, May said that by fighting for gay rights they were continuing the ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers that people are created equal and all have inalienable rights, including the right to be married.

"We're not gay activists, we're American revolutionaries," he said. "We are the intellectual descendants of the American revolution."

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com