"I want to start a revolution," said Luana Chilelli of the Human Rights Campaign of Utah. "The purpose of this is to get Utah to have fair-minded representatives and have the voices of the citizens heard on any level and at every level."

Saturday's all-day session at the Salt Lake County Complex might have been called "Campaigning 101." The goal of this event - and others like it held in 13 cities across the country - is to train 1,500 people to become politically active in local and national campaigns.

Topics taught by Sean Gagen of Grassroots Solutions included such basics as planning a political campaign, recruiting volunteers, working with the media and learning to write a blog.

"We are searching for talented and committed supporters of equality who are engaged in the political process and eager to build the skills necessary to win," said National Field Director Marty Rouse in a release announcing the program. "By maintaining a visible presence on campaigns, we're ensuring that the fight for equality remains a priority in this election cycle and beyond."

Some of the issues that Utah's gay activists consider important include allowing non-married couples living together to adopt children, eliminating employment discrimination, encouraging other Utah cities to follow Salt Lake City's lead in allowing domestic-partner registration, working on human rights issues and supporting HIV and AIDS prevention, Chilelli said.

"I am looking to become authentic, stand up for my beliefs and to show the society that I live in that they believe in these things as well," said Sara Mayes, Salt Lake City, who announced she would be working to defeat Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

Keri Jones, of Equality Utah, which sponsored the Utah event along with the Utah Stonewall Democrats, the Utah AIDS Foundation and the Utah Pride Center, praised Salt Lake City for "being a sea of blue compared to an enormous state of red."

She said Salt Lake City residents have elected a fair-minded City Council, and voters in other cities, including Ogden, Provo and West Valley City, are asking questions about how to achieve similar results.

John Buck, an activist from Ogden, said he hoped things would change in his city.

"Salt Lake City has done some progressive things," he said. "That's not happening in Ogden. Salt Lake City is the bubble and we need to expand it or burst it."

Terry McGuire, regional field organizer for the Human Rights Campaign, said it was important for his group to come to Utah to train activists. He said the turnout for the Salt Lake City session was on par or even larger than some of the other states where Camp Equality has been held.

"We want them to be plugged in door-to-door and not just be volunteers, but leaders in the campaign," he said.

While Democrat Barack Obama probably won't win the majority of Utah's presidential votes, McGuire felt local activists had a good chance of influencing legislative and county government races.

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* TOM WHARTON an be contacted at wharton@sltrib.com. His phone number is 801-257-8909. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.