Even though Republican presidential candidate and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson believes that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, that does not automatically mean he is a homophobe.
According to Carson, Christians and the LGBT community should not be considered as enemies regarding this matter. Only those who criticise people who are against gay marriage are the real issue, Carson said, as reported in the Huffington Post.
"There is no reason that you can't be perfectly fair to the gay community" if you're opposed to marriage equality, Carson said during the third Republican presidential debate on Wednesday. "This is one of the myths that the left perpetuates on our society. This is how they frighten people and get people to shut up."
Carson said the problem with America now is that it has become too politically correct. Those who accuse Christians of being homophobic are only making the situation worse, he said, and they are in fact "destroying the nation" with their lies.
"I believe that our Constitution protects everybody regardless of their sexual orientation," he said. "The fact of the matter is, we the American people are not each other's enemies. It's those people who are trying to divide us who are the enemies."
However, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is not buying into Carson's statements. During the GOP debate, she was texting her thoughts and comments to her supporters.
"Discrimination against the LGBT community is not a myth," she texted. "It's a reality for too many Americans, and it's wrong."
Carson was also crucified in social media because of his defensive statements. "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the somnambulant Carson appeals to anyone, much less is winning the GOP race..." Twitter user Robert Kelly writes.
"Just because I want to deny gay people fundamental rights doesn't mean I'm a homophobe.—Ben Carson," comedian Sean Kent sarcastically tweeted.
