Ben Carson Attempts to Rehabilitate Himself on Gay Rights
Ben Carson has surged in the Republican primary race and his views on social issues have played well with conservative voters. The retired neurosurgeon elaborated on his stance on same-sex marriage during Wednesday night’s debate, but seemed unconvincing in his response.
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Same-sex marriage and LGBT rights has become one of the most important social issues in American politics. Split down partisan ideology, liberals push for increased equal rights for the LGBT community, while conservatives cite their Christian faith for their opposition. During the Republican debate on CNBC on Oct. 28, Carson spoke more about his views on the subject.
When debate moderator Carl Quintanilla pressed Carson on his views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage, the Tea Party favorite responded. "Obviously you don’t understand my views on homosexuality," Carson told Quintanilla. “I believe our Constitution protects everybody regardless of their sexual orientation," Carson noted, despite pushing for anti-gay legislation, and holding views against same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples.
Carson repeated the traditional conservative line, “marriage is between one man and one woman," then said that he could be "fair to the gay community."
Despite the scientific evidence to refute his claim, Carson has stated in the past that homosexuality is a choice, and has compared it to bestiality. Carson is on the recordsupporting Indiana Gov. Mike Pences' "Right To Discriminate" law, saying that many allegations of discrimination against the LGBT community are just examples of "political correctness." While Carson’s views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage might seem radical to the majority of the country that supports those issues, he appears right at home with the conservative base.
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