(CNN)Potential presidential candidate Ben Carson doesn't want to talk about LGBT issues.
The
neurosurgeon insisted Thursday on CNN's "New Day" that the topic is "a
personal issue" that should be left to private forums -- not discussed
in a public forum like the media.
"It
seems to be a topic -- a person's sexual orientation -- that is of fair
amount of concern to you. I don't find it to be anywhere near as
interesting," Carson said Thursday. "I think it's a personal issue and
we ought to leave it as a personal issue."
"Leave...the personal issues to the personal people," Carson added.
Carson
also refused to share his views in the widely discredited practice of
gay conversion therapy, which is intended to make gay people feel
heterosexual. The White House officially announced Wednesday it supports
banning the practice.
"That kind of thing should be left to therapists and to individuals. I don't think it's anybody else's business," Carson said.
The interview Thursday came one month after Carson's last stop on "New Day," when he argued that
homosexuality is a choice, resting his argument on the fact that people
"go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay."
Carson later apologized for those comments, but criticized the CNN
interview and said he would no longer be addressing gay rights.
While
he called for LGBT rights to remain a private issue, Carson called for a
"much greater conversation about Christians and their rights."
"Why are we not talking about that?" Carson asked.
Religious
discrimination, like discrimination on the basis of race or gender, is
protected under the Constitution. Sexual orientation is not protected
under the Constitution and LGBT groups are pushing for
anti-discrimination laws tailored to protect members of that community.
Carson would not say whether he thinks religious groups or LGBT individuals received more protections 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 Sates 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."
Carson's
comments come as the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on same-sex
marriage this summer and in the wake of the recent controversy over the
push for controversial "religious freedom" laws that could give business
owners leeway to refuse services to gay couples planning to get
married, for example.
The Republican governors of Indiana and Arkansas made fixes to legislation in their states after a nationwide backlash.
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