Ben Carson Says He Won't Talk About Gay Issues for Rest of Campaign

Retired neurosurgeon and 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson said this week that he will no longer be discussing gay issues during his election because of the "liberal press."

Carson made his comments to Fox News' Sean Hannity after an interview with CNN, during which Carson said that being gay is a choice, using prison as an example of that argument.

When asked by CNN's Chris Cuomo if he thought being gay was a choice, Carson replied "absolutely," adding: "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."

Carson then clarified his comments in a later statement posted to his Facebook, saying he "realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues."

"I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended," he added.

"We are always born male and female," Carson continued. "And I know that we are all made in God's image, which means we are all deserving of respect and dignity."

Carson then told Fox News' Sean Hannity in a later interview that he will no longer discuss gay issues for the remainder of his presidential campaign. Carson added to the Fox News host that his interview with CNN was edited in such a way that it left out more important talking points and only focused on sensationalist issues, like gay issues.

"First of all, it was a 25-minute interview. They chopped—and you see what part they emphasized," Carson told Hannity. "We talked about some really important things. None of that was brought out. But I did learn something very important: for certain networks, never do a pre-taped interview. Always do it live."

"Here's the point: I believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman," Carson continued. "I also believe that our Constitution protects everybody regardless of their beliefs, and that includes people who are gay."

"I simply have decided I'm not going to really talk about that issue anymore because every time I'm gaining momentum, the political press says, 'Let's talk about gay rights.' And I'm just not going to fall for that anymore," Carson concluded.