North County donors have shelled out more than $1 million toward banning same-sex marriage in California, more than 10 times what their neighbors have given in opposition to the Nov. 4 ballot measure.

The donations to the "Protect Marriage" campaign also outpace metro areas with far larger populations.

North County people and businesses have donated $1.07 million in support of the campaign to ban gay marriage. Los Angeles city residents have donated just $200,000 in support of the campaign, according to California Secretary of State finance disclosure reports.

Prop. 8 would amend California's Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. It would overturn a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that allows same-sex unions.

"It was time for me to stand up," said Rancho Santa Fe resident Jonathan Bullen, who donated $20,000 to Protect Marriage, the campaign committee in support of the proposition. "I think that we need to support traditional marriage more now than any time I've been alive."

As of Monday, the Protect Marriage campaign reported donations of more than $26 million, including contributions from outside the state.

The $1 million in North County contributions account for 4.8 percent of the campaign cash, money coming from a region that accounts for only 2.9 percent of the state's population.

Sonja Eddings Brown, Protect Marriage's Southern California spokeswoman, said she wasn't surprised by the local donations.

"This is the second biggest race in the country and the results impact the entire United States of America," Brown said. "How we vote sets a precedent. Lots of states are watching, and that is why it's pretty much war."

She also pointed to efforts by San Diego area supporters, including Pastor Jim Garlow from the Skyline Wesleyan Church in La Mesa, who is heavily involved in the campaign.

"San Diego and its people, and particularly its interfaith leaders … helped get Prop. 8 on the ballot, and their voices and strength on the ground carry a lot of weight in this campaign," Brown said.

The local donations in support of the proposition dwarfs what local residents gave to the other side. North County donors have given less than $92,000 to campaign against Prop. 8.

Kevin Tilden, a San Diego-based spokesman for those opposing the proposition, pointed to the amount raised by both sides at the statewide level, as opposed to amounts raised locally.

The two campaigns have raised nearly identical amounts, with opponents to the amendment raising $25.5 million.

"In some ZIP codes, we may have done better, some worse," Tilden said. "Overall, we've always been neck and neck."

Most of North County's donations in favor of the constitutional ban have come in large chunks from the region's most affluent areas.

The Highway 56 corridor, from Rancho Bernardo to Carmel Valley, combined with Carlsbad, Encinitas and Rancho Santa Fe, accounted for about $600,000 of all North County donations.

By contrast, the area's most populated region, the Highway 78 corridor from Escondido to Oceanside, constituted just 25 percent of the region's donations, or $250,000.

Not all the big donations to Yes on Prop. 8 came from residents with big bank accounts.

Mary Fellars of Vista said she felt compelled by the issue to give as much as she could -- $5,000, more than six times the average donation.

It is by far the most she has given to any campaign, she said.

"I feel like the ramifications of this will affect society in more detrimental ways than any other candidate or issue that we're voting on," she said.

The large donations come as no surprise to analysts, who point to North County's conservative leanings.

"It really goes to the demographics of the area," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the University of Southern California. "It's the tale of the demographic and ideological makeup of North County."

Gary Jacobson, a political science professor at UC San Diego, agreed.

"This suggests that there are a lot of Christian conservatives in North County, and they are fairly affluent," Jacobson said.

Rancho Santa Fe's Bullen, a married father of four who moved to the area from Salt Lake City four years ago, not only opened his wallet, but also his schedule.

He signed up as a volunteer and has been calling registered voters to encourage their support for the proposition.

He has also taken his 12-year-old daughter with him to wave "Yes on 8" campaign signs along area streets.

"We need to do this for them," Bullen said, referring to children, "and they need to know where we stand."

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Zach Fox at (760) 740-5412 or zfox@nctimes.com.