The organizers of this year’s Western Conservative Summit — billed as “the premiere summer destination for Americans who still believe in freedom, family, faith, and the future” — this week told a Republican organization devoted to advocating for gays and lesbians that it can’t formally participate in the June conference in Denver.

Former Senate President John Andrews, who heads Colorado Christian University’s Centennial Institute, the summit’s sponsors, informed officers of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans in an email on Tuesday that the group won’t be allowed to have an exhibitor table at the gathering, which features appearances by several potential GOP presidential candidates. The Log Cabin Republicans can, however, buy tickets and attend the conservative extravaganza, Andrews noted.

That’s after summit organizers had already processed a $250 payment from the gay-rights group for a table at the event, a spokesman for the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans said in a statement.

“It is a pretty common issue we face,” said Michael Carr, a one-time Republican state Senate candidate and the secretary of the state Log Cabin Republicans. “They’ll take our money, but want us in the closet.”

The dis-invitation “is showcasing the exact problem with the right,” Carr said. “We should be expanding the tent, not excluding people who have shared ideas and philosophies. This is the most important time for us to be reaching out to all types of groups and people, all types of Republicans, all types of conservatives. Young people especially want to see a robust political debate and this dis-invitation is the exact opposite of that. Being perceived as anti-gay turns young people off even more than it does the general public.”

In his email to the group, Andrews said the “worldview and policy agenda” of the Log Cabin Republicans — the group advocates for gay marriage, along with “fairness, freedom, and equality for LGBT Americans” — is “fundamentally at odds with what Colorado Christian University stands for, so it’s just not a fit. I’m sorry it has to be that way.”

The Centennial Institute is guided by the objectives of Lakewood-based Colorado Christian University, its parent organization, the think tank proclaims on its website. Among those are, “To impact our culture in support of traditional family values, sanctity of life, compassion for the poor, Biblical view of human nature, limited government, personal freedom, free markets, natural law, original intent of the Constitution and Western civilization.”

Under the heading “What We Are Not,” the institute posts, “We serve the God of the Bible, but we are not exclusive in our outreach to Americans of all beliefs and viewpoints.”

“Look, they are a private organization with every right to decide to include whom they wish. We aren’t going to sue them over this,” said Alex Hornaday, a Denver attorney and vice president of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans. “Nevertheless, a marketplace thrives on information, and this is information that might inform some others’ patronage. Our policy agenda is one that advances a free society, and a freer economy. I think they are missing out.”

The sixth annual Western Conservative Summit is scheduled to take place June 26-28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Confirmed speakers so far include potential Republican presidential candidates Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Organizers expect some 4,000 to attend.

– Ernest@coloradostatesman.com