Cameron: My remarks on gays not hate speech

>>> kirk cameron charmed audiences as the teenage heartthrob and trouble maker mike seaver on the 18os sitcom "growing pains." now he's out with a new project, a movie called "monumental" tracing what he believes is the secret to what has made america great. kirk cameron , good morning to you.

>> thank you, good morning.

>> well you know i -- i -- before we get to this movie which i know you're very passionate about you know i'm going to ask you about this firestorm that you set off with this -- with this topic, a -- on the topic of gay marriage when you talked to cnn's piers morgan who asked you if you think homosexuality is a sin and you said, quote, i think that it's unnatural. i think that detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization. i've got to get your response. many people are suggesting that this is hate speech . are you encouraging people to feel hate towards gay people ?

>> absolutely not. of course not. no. i love all people. i hate no one. and, you know, when you take a subject and you reduce it to something like a four-second sound bite , and a check mark on a ballot, i think that that's inappropriate and insensitive. the truth is, these are issues that are very personal. these are things that need to be discussed in the context. i believe best in a personal friendship with someone who's asking you the question. and so when things get edited down to that i think it doesn't reflect, certainly didn't reflect my full heart on the matter.

>> do you feel any responsibility saying words like that, that might encourage people to feel that it's okay to treat -- misstreet gay people ?

>> nobody should mistreat anybody. homosexuals should not be mistreated. heterosexuals should not be mistreated. bisexuals should not be mistreated. so, you know, what i think this reveals is that, the interview that asked me these questions you even used the words with me, i think your views are destructive. so what that shows me is that all of us who really think deeply about social issues, like gay marriage , and abortion, and homosexuality, have convictions on issues. and we all have our convictions formed by different things, and mine are informed by my faith, they're informed by the word of god , and i found that to be an anchor for me, a compass and a guide for me. when people start bullying one another and calling each other names for those different convictions, then i think you get into problems. i've also been on the receiving end of that.

>> why do you say things like this that you know are going to cause people to push bac why do you even talk about it, then, because this is not the first time you've been asked about it. it's not the first time you've made comments that have caused people a lot of alarm.

>> well, that's a good question. i was surprised, frankly, that people were surprised by the things that i said, because i have been consistent for 15 years as a christian, i'm a bible believing christian. what i would have thought was more newsworthy is if i had said something that contradicted the word of god . if i had contradicted my faith.

>> meantime, all of the attention, this firestorm is occurring as you're promoting this new movie that you co-produced, i understand, yes, that's right, and star in. it's called "monumental."

>> yes.

>> and you're very passionate about it. tell me about the movie.

>> well, i spent the last year and a half on a personal journey traveling through europe and the united states in search of what i'm calling the real national treasure of america. i've got six kids and as a dad, i'm wanting my kids to have a great future. and i look at what's going on around, turn on the news and economically we're struggling greatly as a nation, we're 15, 16 trillion dollars in debt. families falling apart, divorce, teenage pregnancy , suicide, crime, drugs, alcohol, so many things, i'm thinking, how can you turn things around culturally? and with so many people playing the blame game, with the right blaming the left and the left blaming the right, i'm thinking maybe there's a simple solution. if only we could get in a time machine and go back and talk to the men and women who built this country, these courageous moms and dads who went against all odds and started a brand-new idea maybe they could tell us what we're doing right and wrong and what to do to get on the right track.

>> people watching you this morning might want to know how you're doing since your -- how have the years -- where are you now, after playing mike seaver? how happy are you? you've got six kids, you just mentioned that.

>> yes. i -- i couldn't feel more thankful, and blessed. my wife and i have six children and they're growing up, and they're doing great and i'm table to travel around with some of my kids, able to be -- like we talked earlier before this interview that we're doing things that we love to do. and you think, how is it that some people get to do things that they love to do with their life and others just are struggling to find their way. and i feel that way. i'm able to help people with things that are important to me. do projects on marriage and family. these are the things that i kind of look back on and say, thank you. i -- i'm really blessed.

>> well, thank you for giving us a little bit of your time, kirk cameron . thank you. nice to meet you.

>> thank you, very nice.

>> and "monumental" opens up in select theaters on march 27th . and just ahead an inside look at celebrity homes that are hitting the market. but