Gay rights supporters Wednesday blasted potential Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson’s assertion that prison proves that homosexuality is a matter of choice.
Carson, during an interview Wednesday on CNN’s ‘New Day,’ said ‘absolutely’ that being gay is a choice and noted that ‘a lot of people who go into prison straight, and when they come out, they’re gay.’
‘So did something happen while they were in there?’ asked Carson, a retired neurosurgeon. ‘Ask yourself that question.’
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, said that Carson, based on his choice theory, ‘is a felony conviction away from being gay.’
‘Here we are in 2015, and the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have come to the conclusion that sexuality is not a choice,’ Angelo said. ‘Someone with the word ‘doctor’ in front of their name should know better.’
Angelo added that Carson’s comments on homosexuality could drown out the populist, self-help message that Carson is trying to convey as he mulls a White House run. He formed a presidential exploratory committee on Monday.
Carson’s camp didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Wednesday.
The Human Rights Campaign responded to Carson’s comments in an email statement with the headline ‘When did Ben Carson Choose to be Straight?’
‘The only thing that’s really been proven here is that when Ben Carson says what he really thinks, he reveals himself as utterly unfit for office,’ said Fred Sainz, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president of communications. ‘Ben Carson is putting his own personal ambition ahead of medical science by suggesting that a person can change their sexual orientation. As a doctor, Carson surely knows that countless mental health and medical organizations have condemned the idea that you can change a person’s sexual orientation.’