Falwell Jr Out Against GOProud

Liberty University chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. has sent a letter to American Conservative Union chairman David Keene saying he and Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver will boycott the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference if the gay GOP group GOProud is allowed stay on as a sponsor of the February event. The letter asks Keene to respond by 5 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday.

GOProud announced earlier this month at that it would be a cosponsor of the event, whose guests are expected to include Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, and Bobby Jindal. "GOProud's participation at CPAC is one of the most important things we'll do all year," said GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia. "This gathering of the nation's most influential conservatives gives us an incredible opportunity to deliver our message."

What's becoming clear, though, is that some of those conservatives don't want to hear GOProud's message. Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, joined Falwell in demanding the group be removed as a sponsor, saying the group's inclusion is evidence of the "dumbing down of the pro-family stand in the public policy arena."