Don't Amend campaign manager Scott McCoy leads a well-organized and well-financed effort, which is trying to draw attention away from the definition of marriage, by zeroing in on the second sentence of Amendment 3, which would prevent any other union from being given the "same or substantially equivalent legal effect" as a marriage.

Opponents received the unexpected help of GOP Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, when he and other attorney general candidates issued a rare joint statement opposing the amendment because of its second clause.

That more unified message of caution coming from the opposition is starting to wear on Christensen, who authored the amendment.

"(The amendment is) a simple, succinct, two-sentence summary. Is Utah for or against same-sex marriage, is Utah for or against synonyms or substitutions? . . . This amendment freezes in place the law."

Christensen's frustrated tone illustrates the success of Don't Amend's campaign, which has been active throughout the summer.

Amendment opponents are doing exactly what they need to do — raising doubt, said Kelly Patterson, director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. And it's not generally clear how voters decide ballot initiatives until the last two weeks before an election, he said.

"If the campaign is done the right way and doesn't create a backlash among voters, it can raise doubts about the wisdom of a certain course of action," he said. "All they need to do is say this isn't the right way to do it. . . . If those scenarios are credible, voters can vote 'no.' "

Paulos said amendment supporters shouldn't allow Don't Amend to put them on the defensive.

"They should just stay on message. We tell our candidates and campaigns all the time, 'Answer the question you want to answer, not the question you're asked.' That's just a level of confidence they need to have."

So far, Don't Amend's fund-raising efforts have dwarfed the amendment's supporters. As of the Sept. 15 filing deadline, Don't Amend had raised a total $535,495, compared to $16,480 raised by the campaigns supporting Amendment 3, according to the State Elections Office.

McCoy said he's gaining support through efforts such as house parties, door-to-door campaigning, telephone banks, and booths at festivals around the state. Don't Amend is also planning a television and radio advertising campaign.

Meanwhile, supporters have been slower to organize. Other than a few political booths, voters have so far heard little from Constitutional Defense of Marriage, which formed in early August, or from Yes! For Marriage, which formed in late July.