Orlando Sentinel Column Questions City’s ‘Post-Pulse Embrace of LGBT’ Two Days After Massacre’s Anniversary

Guest Columnist Later Said He Wasn’t Expressing His Own Views 

Two days after the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Massacre, the Orlando Sentinel chose to publish a guest column questioning if the city’s “post-pulse embrace of LGBT” was “too tight,” leading to declining attendance at Disney World.

The column was written by C. Britt Beemer, the chairman and CEO of America’s Research Group, who described himself as “a consumer trends and research expert.” He’s also the co-author of a book designed to instruct parents on how to prohibit their children from “quitting church” with anti-LGBT creationist and Christian fundamentalist Ken Ham. 

“Since the Pulse nightclub shootings a year ago in Orlando,” Beemer wrote, “I’ve observed a significant number of evangelical Christians shift their vacations plans: They will see the Ark instead of visiting Disney in their own backyard.”

Much of the article reads as an ad for Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter, with Beemer linking the decline in Disney World attendance to the “genuine concern about how children might be influenced by the pro-gay/lesbian movement in Orlando.”

“The city of Orlando has so much embraced the pro-gay/lesbian campaign after Pulse that many evangelical Christians worry – with justification,” he wrote, “that this crazed jihadist attack on America was not an attack by a jihadist but by an anti-gay individual.”

“Instead of recognizing Pulse as the worst attack on Americans by an extreme Muslim terrorist, killing 49 Americans,” Beemer wrote, “the media have turned the attack into something it is not.”

To be clear, the Pulse Massacre – the worst terror attack on American soil since 9/11 and the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history – was without a doubt also an anti-gay hate crime.

“Perhaps the portrayal of the Pulse shooting as a gay-lesbian issue rather than an act of terrorism accounts for the drop in visitors,” Beemer asserted, continuing his campaign for the Ark Encounter and touting it as the “viable alternative for family-vacation dollars.”

Following the column’s publication, Jezebel’s Rich Juzwiak reached out to Beemer by telephone and wrote about his conversation in an excellent piece:

Beemer conceded to me, but not in his op-ed, that he’s “sure” Disney could be losing some of its market share to Universal. He also said he didn’t ask about the way ticket prices may have affected Ark Encounter/Creation Museum attendees’ choices (per day, Ark Encounter costs $40 for adults and is considerably cheaper for children, whereas a one-day ticket to the Magic Kingdom for people ages 10+ is $124).

According to Juzwiak, Beemer told him that his editorial doesn’t reflect his own beliefs. “I’m not opposed to the gay community,” he said. “I have gay people working at my company.”

The Orlando Sentinel clearly states atop Beemer’s article that it’s a guest opinion column and doesn’t reflect the views of its editorial board, though Beemer was likely paid for his contribution and they did opt to run it two days after the Pulse Massacre’s anniversary.

For its part, they also published letters to the editor on the matter. Wrote one reader:

Never have I read a more disturbing, misguided, stomach-churning viewpoint in the Orlando Sentinel than the vile, unfeeling, ill-timed homophobic diatribe by C. Britt Beemer. How sad that he would seek to find fault with the love and compassion being expressed by this shining City Beautiful for its diverse citizenry, including but certainly not exclusively for the all-too-long maligned and marginalized LGBTQ community.

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