Retired neurosurgeon and potential presidential candidate Ben Carson would like to see more focus on Christians and their rights while keeping the topic of homosexuality as a "personal issue."
"It seems to be a topic — a person's sexual orientation — that is of fair amount of concern to you," Carson told
CNN "New Day" host Chris Cuomo Thursday. "I don't find it to be anywhere near as interesting. I think it's a personal issue and we ought to leave it as a personal issue."
Carson's interview came about a month after he last appeared on the program and got into a heated discussion with Cuomo, when he declared that homosexuality is a choice. He based that argument on people who "go into prison straight, and when they come out, they're gay."
A day later, Carson apologized for those comments in a
Facebook post, saying he does not "pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation."
But on Thursday, he told Cuomo that homosexuality is a topic that is "personal" and should be left to private forums, and not be discussed publicly through the media.
"Leave ... the personal issues to the personal people," he said, also refusing to share his views about controversial gay conversion therapy treatments.
"That kind of thing should be left to therapists and to individuals," he said. "I don't think it's anybody else's business."
And while Carson called for the topic of LGBT rights to stay private, he said that he would like to see a "much greater conversation about Christians and their rights — why are we not talking about that?"
While LGBT groups are pushing for anti-discrimination laws in the wake of the religious freedom restoration bills being approved in states like Indiana, Carson would not say Thursday if he believes religious groups or gays receive more protection under the law.
"I would like to see as much emphasis on the rights of Christians and people who are members of the faith community as there is to some of the other groups," he said. "The important thing is for us as a nation to recognize that all citizens of the United States are protected by our Constitution.
"We need to stop deciding that one group versus another group is the flavor of the day, and we need to do things that provide for justice and liberty for everybody."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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