Republican presidential hopeful, Dr. Ben Carson has graced the headlines numerous times the last few months. In January allegations arose that he plagiarized portions of his book America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great from a variety of sources . In late November he stirred up controversy by attempting to tie the women’s liberation movement and the “Me” generation to unarmed teens like Mike Brown being shot and killed. Most humorously, during a November interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Carson indicated he felt the “fingers” of God touching him, urging him to run for President in 2016.
Last month, Carson was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center‘s list of extremists in the Anti-LGBT category. The SPLC wrote the following about Carson in their overview,
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson rapidly ascended as a far-right political star after publicly scolding President Obama, whom he sat a few feet away from, at a National Prayer Breakfast in February 2013. Carson’s reproach of Obama for his health care and tax policies went viral, unleashing a flood of adulation from right-wing media and hate groups. Carson’s own story as an “up by the bootstraps” black man reared in poverty translated into an inspiring, magnetic narrative that captured media attention. Soon he was appearing as the keynoter at a rash of right-wing and hate group gatherings, linking gays with pedophiles, comparing the U.S. to Nazi Germany and endorsing biblical economic practices for 21st century America. A movement to draft Carson as a presidential candidate took off in 2014, raising more than $7 million by June, according to its website. Carson has coyly declined to say whether he would run as a Republican or on a third-party ticket, but media interviews suggest that he is increasingly willing to run on some ticket.
This week, Carson was at it again – this time claiming that being gay was a choice as evidenced by the behavior of inmates:
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.
The comments were made during an exclusive interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo mere hours after he announced the creation of an exploratory committee for the 2016 presidential campaign and as MSNBC reports:
Carson’s views on homosexuality have gotten him in trouble in the past: in 2013, he was forced to cancel a commencement speech at Johns Hopkins–the school where he worked as a pediatric neurosurgeon–and apologize for remarks about gay people.
You can watch the relevant portion, below:
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