Business, Entertainment Notables Pull Out of Antigay Group's Event

Corporate executive Peter Coors, actor Gary Sinise, and Fox News anchor Bret Baier have all canceled plans to appear at the annual conference of an antigay Catholic group that supports "ex-gay" therapy.

Molson Coors Brewing Co. today sent the blog JoeMyGod a tweet saying that Peter Coors, its chairman, would not be a speaker at the Legatus annual summit, scheduled for January 29-31 in Naples, Fla. "Pete Coors was previously unaware of the controversy surrounding that organization's position on LGBT issues and will not be speaking at the summit," the tweet read in part. Another blog, Good as You, had drawn attention to the fact that Coors, Sinise, and Baier were set to appear at the event.

Coors's family was once noted for antigay activism, and many gay bars boycotted Coors products, but in recent decades the Coors company, which merged with Molson in 2005, has cultivated a more gay-friendly image and even adopted some LGBT-supportive policies. Peter Coors, positioning himself as a moderate Republican, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from Colorado in 2004.

Sinise and Baier pulled out of the conference before Coors. Film, stage, and TV star Sinise, who was an Oscar nominee for Forrest Gump and is an activist for veterans' causes, sent Good as You this statement through his publicist Monday: "For me, faith has been a catalyst for my mission to honor the men and women who serve in our nation's military. When I accepted the invitation to speak at the Legatus conference on veterans issues and share my story, I was unaware of the controversy surrounding some of the participants, and their views on personal matters. I don't want my mission -- which is designed to be unifying -- to be disrupted by these, or any controversies, and therefore have decided to withdraw."

Baier, Fox News Channel's chief political anchor, canceled yesterday. "Bret Baier has withdrawn his participation as a speaker at the upcoming Legatus Summit due to the controversy surrounding some editorial stances in the organization's magazine," a spokesperson for the cable channel told Adweek's TV Newser blog. "Bret accepted the invitation to speak about his book, his faith, and his son's congenital heart disease. He was unaware of these articles or the controversy surrounding them."

One such article, carried by Legatus Magazine last summer and excerpted by Good as You, stated, "It's impossible to see homosexual unions as being in line with God's intentions for marriage since the product of intercourse is not fruitful. Along with masturbation, fornication, and adultery, homosexuality is a selfish act that cannot fulfill the divinely ordained purpose of the reproductive powers." It also referred to "the disorder of same-sex attraction" and encouraged gay Catholics to be celibate.

Also, a 2011 article endorsed "ex-gay" therapy, which every major mental health group considers ineffective and harmful. "Fortunately there is hope for those who suffer from the disorder," the article read. "The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality reports that significant numbers of homosexual persons have undergone treatment and had their sexual drives properly ordered."

This is not the first time a celebrity has withdrawn from a Legatus event; actor-comedian Bob Newhart did so a year ago after being confronted about the organization's antigay views. However, the 2015 Legatus summit will still have some big-name speakers. According to the group's website, they include New York archbishop Timothy Dolan, who has been outspoken against marriage equality and LGBT rights in general, and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, who is considering a run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.