BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A conservative group will hold a
conference on homosexuality this week, and gay rights organizations
say they plan to stage a protest.

Focus on the Family will hold a conference on Saturday at
Birmingham's Metropolitan Church of God.

Melissa Fryrear, director of gender issues for Focus on the Family and one of the speakers, says the conference teaches that those with same-sex attractions can change.

She says the conference is for parents who don't condone their children's homosexual behavior but still love them.

Johnathan Quinn, president of Central Alabama Pride, says Focus
on the Family's literature tells parents to abandon their children
if they fail to behave in a prescribed manner.

Fryrear says Focus on the Family does not want parents to shun
homosexual children.