A 49-year-old Brisbane grandmother, who is the Family First Senate candidate in Queensland, has apologized for tweeting that to allow gay marriage was like "legalizing child abuse".

Wendy Francis has managed to issue a lengthy statement on her website to seek apologies for her comment. However, the party's top candidate has deleted the original content from her Twitter account.

She further elaborated that her purpose was not to hurt anyone's feeling and that the media has exaggerated and "distorted the truth" about the content of the original tweet.

She stated, "I sincerely and unreservedly apologies.  Those who know me personally know that I would never intentionally offend any person".

She added that her tweet caused pain to others, though she did not intend to. She was criticized on Twitter, as well as by the mainstream media for the tweet on her account.

In her tweet, she stated that children, who indulge in homosexual relationships, are exposed to emotional abuse and by making gay marriage legal it is like making child abuse lawful.

The NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby criticized the woman, as according to them, the comments were "offensive and homophobic", though, they have appreciated the fact that she has apologized.