"We're a family," a gay couple shouted at her. Later, two girls stood in front of her and kissed.

"These people don't even know the issues," said Coletti, who was holding a Yes on Amendment 3 sign. "To me it's not a gay issue, it's an issue about marriage."

By one estimate, only 40 of the 250 people or so in the protest area were there to blast Moore. Dennis Potter, a UVSC assistant professor of philosophy, attributed the high turnout of liberal Utahns to organization.

"The progressive community has unified in opposition to the war and the Bush administration. The conservatives have not had to organize, because their party is in power," he said. "We sent e-mails to every left-leaning organization out there."

Michael Moore spokeswoman Terri Hardesty said protesters have followed the filmmaker to every venue where he speaks.

"I wouldn't even call them protesters. There's like 10 people out there with Bush/Cheney signs, and there are 14,000 people to see him," she said.

For hours, students, faculty members and others stood in the protest area arguing about the war in Iraq, the presidential election and issues like minimum wage and affirmative action. Several protesters said it was the most serious political discussion they had heard on campus this year.

"Before he came, nobody was talking about politics. There wasn't a whole lot of interest," said student Dominique Replogle, who wore a black shirt with the words "He Lies" painted on the front in white. "Now look around. People are waving signs, and getting mad. That's great. I think the Founding Fathers would be very happy with what's going on today."

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E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com