Conservative Star Apologizes for Remarks on Gay Marriage

Ben Carson made reference to bestiality
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 30, 2013 6:05 AM CDT
Conservative Star Apologizes for Remarks on Gay Marriage
President Bush presents the Lincoln Medal to Dr. Benjamin Carson, a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, in 2008.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Dr. Ben Carson is a renowned neurosurgeon fast becoming a favorite in conservative political circles, and with that higher profile comes extra scrutiny. Exhibit A: Carson yesterday offered to bow out as commencement speaker in May at Johns Hopkins after a brouhaha erupted over his comments on gay marriage. While on Fox Tuesday, Carson said this, as per Politico:

  • “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, they don’t get to change the definition."

Grouping gay marriage with bestiality and pedophilia (the NAMBLA reference) didn't sit well with Johns Hopkins students, who started a petition to scrap him as speaker. Carson tells the Baltimore Sun that he will oblige if the school wishes. As for the comments: "Perhaps the examples were not the best choice of words, and I certainly apologize if I offended anyone," he says. "But the point that I was making was that no group of individuals, whoever they are, whatever their belief systems, gets to change traditional definitions." (Rush Limbaugh would agree.) Of course, all of this might actually work to Carson's political advantage, observes Dave Weigel at Slate. It's "going to gild the narrative of Ben Carson, Seeker of Truth Betrayed by the Liberal Media, right?" Click for the full post. (More Ben Carson stories.)

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