NEW YORK -- Being gay is "absolutely" a choice. That’s the view of Dr. Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon and a man running for the presidency of the United States.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, the stoat-voiced Republican used the example of homosexuality in prisons to disprove the scientific consensus, telling the host, "Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they’re gay."
He continued: "Did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question.” His logic runs thus: Because homosexual activities occur in prison, all gays make a choice. Yet according to the American Psychological Association, “most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."
Carson has some form with this type of bluster. In a 2013 Fox News interview, he compared gay marriage to pedophilia and bestiality. He 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: "They [gay people] don't get to change the definition. So he, 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."
And it’s not just on LGBT issues that Carson has some rambunctious views, once calling Obamacare (that’s the provision of healthcare to the most needy) the "worst thing since slavery." More recently, he made the admission that he uses religion to differentiate between science and propaganda.
Carson revealed earlier this week that he had set up a presidential exploratory committee -- Orwellian doublespeak for “running for President.” Unsurprisingly, he is currently doing very well in the polls, with conservative activists warming to the Doctor's extremism. However, such fringe views make him all but unelectable in the general election in 2016.
One candidate who is far more viable is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. He only denies evolution.
UPDATE:
The good doctor posted this inevitable retraction on his Facebook page on Wednesday evening:
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