Getty Ben Carson: 'I don't want to talk about the gay issue'

Ben Carson says he would rather talk about discrimination against Christians than discrimination against gays.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, the Republican presidential candidate said that he was “irritated” by the comparison between same-sex marriage rights and the civil rights movement because, for example, there have not been any signs that said ‘everybody else here, and gay people have to drink at this fountain.’”


Asked by CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Thursday to explain the remarks, Carson doubled down.

“I don’t want to talk about the gay issue unless you can get the answer to this question. Who believes in the traditional marriage that would be acceptable?” he asked.

The Constitution, Carson said, protects “every single American” with “equal rights, not extra rights.”

“Everybody should be protected against discrimination. Can we move on to something more important?” he asked.

Keilar pressed, telling the retired neurosurgeon that he had not answered “a very simple question,” asking him to clarify his remarks.

“I just said everybody needs to be protected from discrimination. Everybody probably has somebody who discriminates against them because there are people with small minds who think that way,” he answered.

No one should be discriminated against, Carson said, adding that “every group faces some type of discrimination.”

“Christians face a lot of discrimination,” he added. “I wish we could talk more about that.”