Christian celebrity and potential GOP
presidential candidate Ben Carson on Wednesday reiterated his
opposition to marriage equality, saying that being gay is a choice.
Appearing on CNN's New
Day, host Chris Cuomo asked Carson his position on
same-sex marriage.
“You can't just say because it
happened that way this time, this is the same situation. It's not
the same situation,” Carson said, referring to civil rights.
“Why not?” Cuomo asked.
“Because people have no control over
their race, for instance.”
“You think they have control over
their sexuality?”
“Absolutely,” Carson answered.
“Because a lot of people go into prison straight and when they come
out they're gay.”
“A lot of people go into jail as a
drug addict and they come out as a criminal. Does that mean that all
drug addicts are criminals?” Cuomo asked but did not receive a
response.
Carson recently made headlines when he
warned against pressuring bakers opposed to marriage equality because
they might poison the wedding cakes of gay couples.
(Related: Ben
Carson defends comment that anti-equality bakers might poison gay
wedding cakes.)