On the same day
Ben Carson launched an exploratory committee to run for president in 2016, he also began making controversial comments that could follow him into the campaign.
In an
interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and 2016 GOP hopeful, said that prison inmates provided proof that being gay is a choice.
"Absolutely," he said when Cuomo asked if he thought being gay was a choice, adding:
"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 this "thwarts" the idea that being gay is not a choice, which is the prevailing opinion of the medical community. The
American Psychological Associationwrites, "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."
Carson said that it was beside the point though, because what gay couples really want is the same rights that straight couples have. He said the word "marriage" need not apply.
"Why do gay people want to get married?" Carson asked Cuomo. "Because they want to have various rights -- property rights, visitation rights. 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."