Ben Carson forced to apologize for ‘hurtful and divisive’ claims of prisoners’ sexual behavior
Ben Carson forced to apologize for ‘hurtful and divisive’ claims of prisoners’ sexual behavior
Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson has been forced to apologize for comments made on Wednesday in which he said prisoners’ changing their sexuality in jail proves that being gay is a choice.
The retired neurosurgeon posted a statement on his Facebook page just hours later in which he said he ‘realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues.’
‘I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended,’ he added.
However Carson’s apology only went so far and he remains adamant that it isn’t certain whether people are born either gay or straight.
‘Some of our brightest minds have looked at this debate, and up until this point there have been no definitive studies that people are born into a specific sexuality,’ he said.
Carson’s opinion is at odds with many in the medical community, including the American Psychological Association, who says ‘most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.’
Carson had landed himself in hot water on Wednesday morning after appearing on CNN’s New Day. Asked by Chris Cuomo if being gay was a choice, Carson replied: ‘Absolutely.’
‘Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight – and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question,’ Carson said.
He then spoke out against gay marriage.
‘Why do gay people want to get married? Why do they say they want to get married? Because they want to have various rights – property rights, visitation rights,’ he said.
‘Why can’t any two human beings, I don’t care what their sexual orientation is, why can’t they have the legal right to do those things? That does not require changing the definition of marriage.’
Carson said he believes marriage should be decided at the state level, this on the same day the Alabama Supreme Court ignored a federal ruling and in a near unanimous vote ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
Carson has long been outspoken on the subject of gay marriage, which he compared to bestiality and pedophilia in a 2013 speech.
In an interview with Sean Hannity, Carson said; ‘My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are.’
He continued by saying; ‘They don’t get to change the definition. It’s not something that is against gays, it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society. It has significant ramifications.’
The comments came as a shock at the time as up to that point Carson has come across as an affable and moderate Republican in a series of interviews.
The backlash was so strong, especially among young Americans, that Carson was forced to withdraw from delivering the commencement address at his alma mater Johns Hopkins.
Earlier this week Carson launched an exploratory committee to run for president, becoming the first high-profile Republican candidate to potentially enter the 2016 race.
