Unofficial counts for Pride Festival attendance weren't yet available late Sunday, but organizer Jere Keys said the event had grown since the previous year, when 15,000 people attended the festival.

As Pride attendees made their voices heard, so did those who support the amendment. Members of the conservative issues group Utah Eagle Forum called their senators last week in support of the measure. And the LDS-targeted Meridian online magazine and the Family Leader Network sponsored a nationwide petition drive which had received more than 15,000 signatures as of Friday. President Bush is expected to speak in favor of the Amendment today.

"We've certainly received increased correspondence this week from Utahns," said Bennett's spokeswoman MaryJane Collipriest. "The vast majority of those contacting our office are in favor of the amendment."

Hatch, a co-sponsor of the amendment, had received at least 12,000 calls, along with 2,400 faxes and letters, as of Friday, said spokeswoman Heather Barney. About 98 to 99 percent support the amendment, Barney said.

To become law, the proposal would need two-thirds support in the Senate and House, and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

Despite overwhelming support in Utah, where same-sex marriage is already banned by a state constitutional amendment, the federal measure stands little chance of passing the Senate, where proponents are struggling to get even a simple majority for a preliminary vote.

"We just need to show our support with our phone calls, asking not only for them to vote for it, but to stand up and speak out," said Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum. "It's going to be a lot of hard work to get those votes."

Meanwhile, those opposed to the amendment realize that Bennett and Hatch, both members of the LDS Church, won't likely change their votes.

"It's a given they'll vote for it," said Maryann Martindale, political co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign's Utah chapter. "The point is it's our job to show them that not everyone does think that's OK. In Utah we have a lot of allies."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com