Telling the crowd of his Mormon upbringing, Bastian said that the "Mormon Church should stay out of my business!" He also recognized that the church would take the opposite view and that they would spend a good amount to see the proposition pass in November.

Bastian said he wanted "to make it clear that I chose to give this to [The Human Rights Campaign]." He added that he made the gift to the DC-based national organization because he "believes in and trusts their leadership in this fight."

Reminding the audience of the conservative politics of Bastian's home state of Utah, HRC president Joe Solmonese told the gathering that "Bruce has always been there to help, even though he lives in what's probably going to be the last state in America to benefit from marriage equality."

As a way to encourage contributions to organizations he supports, Bastian will often offer "challenge grants," requiring the recipient to raise funds to match the gift. In this case, however, the gift was made with no conditions, with hopes that it will "encourage you and many others to dig a little deeper and join in this fight."

Bastian is a graduate of Brigham Young University, which the Princeton Review ranks as the most "stone-cold sober" school in America.