March 4, 2015

Ben Carson is on a roll of sorts. Instead of toning his words down as he said he was trying to do to Chris Cuomo on CNN's New Day, he upped the ante by using an ignorant perspective trying to prove that being "gay" is a lifestyle choice. (Let's ask baseball player David Murphy to comment on that one too.)

Host Chris Cuomo was giving him a quiz on some of the issues a possible presidential candidate would be asked about and the topic of gay marriage came up. Dr. Carson, a virulently anti-gay Christian came up with a new angle to prove his point. His new argument is that since men who aren't gay have gay prison sex and then come out gay, this proves being gay is a choice. Einstein, he is not.

"Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay," Carson said. "So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question."

Yes, something horrendous did happen. Many straight men were raped repeatedly in prison for many reasons (including domination) and to argue like a toddler that this proves his point is sophomoric at best and insane at worst. Incarceration is a much more complex topic than that. Since he's a medical man, I'd like to know where he got his information from to prove his hypothesis?

The American Psychological Association says says "there is no consensus among scientists" on how a person's sexual orientation is developed.

"Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors," the APA says. "Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."

Cuomo: You think they have control over their sexuality?

Carson: Absolutely.

Cuomo: You think being gay is a choice.

Carson: Absolutely.

Cuomo: Why do you say that?

Carson: Because 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

Cuomo: Most gay people never go to prison, and you know there's a whole theory of domination

Carson: Wait a minute, i said a lot of people who go in, come out. Are you denying that's true?

Cuomo: I'm not denying that that's true but I'm denying that that's a basis for understanding homosexuality.

Carson: If in fact that is the case, then it thwarts what you just said.

Cuomo: A lot of people go into prison as a drug addict and come out a criminal does that mean all drug addicts are criminals?

Huh? What a debating skill.

Then he went into a tangent about the reasons gay people want to get married which was equality barbaric. He believes it's because they want to have the equal rights as a married couple and he opines that that doesn't necessitate a change to the definition of marriage. Chris Cuomo was flummoxed.

Cuomo: But it would require a covering that union as you do others, which is called marriage in our society.

Carson: I don't think so.

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