Forrest Gump actor Gary Sinise, who played Lieutenant Dan Taylor, cancels appearance at 'gay cure' rally

Legatus, a Christian organisation that encourages homosexuals to “seek a cure”, had procured the star for an upcoming event in Florida

Gary Sinise, the Academy Award-nominated actor who played the much loved role of Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, has pulled out of an appearance at a summit for an anti-gay Catholic group.

Legatus, a Christian organisation that encourages homosexuals to “seek a cure”, had procured the star – also regarded for his role in Of Mice and Men – to speak at an upcoming event at the Ritz-Carlton in Florida.

However, Sinise has since made the decision to withdraw.

“For me, faith has been a catalyst for my mission to honour the men and women who serve in our nation’s military,” he said in a statement.

“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.”

Fox News anchor Bret Baier was also due to give a speech at the event. He, too, has pulled out.

“Bret Baier has withdrawn his participation as a speaker at the upcoming Legatus Summit due to the controversy surrounding some editorial stances in the organization’s magazine,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Independent. “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.”

Articles on the Legatus website list homosexuality as ‘SSA’ or ‘Same-sex attraction disorder’.

“Our members, who are ‘ambassadors for Christ,’ don’t typically wear their faith on their shirtsleeves,” a mission statement reads. “They spread the faith through good works, good ideas, and high ethical standards.”