Just one day after his controversial claim that being gay is “absolutely” a choice and that prison can make people turn gay, Dr. Ben Carson has apologized, saying his “choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues.”
Carson first told CNN that he believes being gay is a choice “Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay.”
After a media firestorm ensued, Carson took to his Facebook page to walk back his comments.
“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,” he wrote.
He appeared to adopt a somewhat more agnostic view, writing, “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. We do know, however, that we are always born male and female.”
Carson went on to reiterate his support for civil unions for gay couples, and for leaving the issue of gay marriage up to individual states, as long as religious marriage remains “governed by the church.”
“I am not a politician and I answered a question without really thinking about it thoroughly,” he said. “No excuses.”
During a radio interview with Sean Hannity a few hours after his intiail CNN interview, Carson appeared to blame media distortions for the controversy, and resolved to no longer talk about gay marriage.
“It was a 25 minute interview they chopped, and you see what part they emphasized,” he told Hannity. “I simply have decided I’m not really going to talk about that issue anymore because every time I’m gaining momentum the liberal press says, ‘Let’s talk about gay rights.’ And I’m just not going to fall for that anymore.”
Read the full apology here.
