Dr. Ben Carson, a pediatric
neurosurgeon at John Hopkins University and a conservative celebrity,
on Saturday reiterated his opposition to gay marriage during a speech
at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual
gathering of conservatives.
Last year, Carson stepped down as
commencement speaker at the John Hopkins School of Medicine and
apologized for comparing gay nuptials to bestiality and pedophilia
during a Fox News interview. In his apology, Carson said that he was
“saddened” that “my poorly chosen words caused pain for some
members of our community and for that I offer a most sincere and
heartfelt apology.”
At CPAC, however, Carson denied that he
ever made the comparison.
“I still believe that marriage is
between a man and a woman,” Carson
said to applause. “Because I happen to mention that nobody
gets to change the definition of marriage and mention some other
categories they said, 'Carson said that gay marriage and bestiality
are the same thing.' Well that's preposterous. Of course, they're
not the same thing. Anybody who believes that is a dummy. But
anybody who believes somebody who says that somebody said that is a
dummy. That's the problem.”
“Of course, gay people should have
the same rights as everyone else. But they don't get extra rights,
they don't get to redefine marriage,” he added. (The video is
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Carson made his original comments
during an appearance on Fox News' Hannity.
“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 the 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,” Carson said,
referring to the North American Man Boy/Love Association, a group
which is thought to no longer exist.