Focus on the Family president: Being gay 'is not a super sin'

In a radio segment published online Monday, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly insisted that being gay "is not a super sin," saying that parents should not condone it, but they also shouldn't completely reject their children over it either.

"I don't mean this controversially but it may sound controversial," he began, responding to a question from a listener. "The one big thing is, homosexuality is not a super sin. It's one of many, including adultery [and] other things, lying, cheating, gossiping. It's right there on the list."

"So often, I think in the Christian community, because of the political nature of it today, that we tend to raise it up as something worse than all the others," he added.

Focus on the Family, once home to Christian right figure Dr. James Dobson, used to be a leading promoter of controversial "ex-gay" therapies and until 2009 operated an organization called "Love Won Out" that purported to turn LGBT people straight. The group also saw itself as a media watchdog, often shaming networks for airing content featuring openly gay characters. They particularly disliked "Will & Grace."

However, the once-influential advocacy organization has been relegated to a much smaller role in the conservative movement of late, admitting abject defeat on cultural issues in 2009, and then selling off its ex-gay ministry amid precipitously declining revenues.

The group has since attempted to rebrand itself as less focused on cultural controversies and more focused on helping the poor, reducing the abortion rate and advocating for immigrants, although Focus on the Family's leading critics .

This audio is an interview with Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, snipped by the Good As You blog on January 14, 2013.

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