Conservative group won't let gay Republican organization participate in conference

Attendees of the Western Conservative Summit in Denver this June won't be able to meet with representatives from the Log Cabin Republicans, as organizers will not allow the gay GOP group to have an official presence at the event.

The Centennial Institute, a think tank affiliated with Colorado Christian University that puts the event together every year, said the Log Cabin Republicans cannot have a booth at an event that "promotes traditional family structure," The Associated Press reports. The institute's president, John Andrews, said a registration check for $250 has been returned to the conservative gay-rights group, adding, "We'd love to have them attend the summit and be in the discussion, but we have to draw the line at a formal relationship between two organizations with diametrically opposed policy beliefs."

Thousands will come out to the three-day event to hear people like Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) speak. It's the first time the Log Cabin Republicans have attempted to have a booth at the summit, and Alexander Hornaday, vice president of the group's Colorado chapter, says the move to block his organization is "short-sighted. What turns young people off from the right is a perception that the right is intolerant or anti-gay. This reinforces that perception."

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