Potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson recently issued a statement revealing his stance on the controversial issue of same-sex marriage.
Speaking this week with Larry King on his Web show "Politicking," Carson said that he doesn't think gay marriage is a civil rights issue, and further added that he believes in the Libertarian idea of "live and let live."
"For me, it's not a big issue," Carson said. "You know, I think any people can do anything they want to do."
Carson, who formerly served as head neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins and is a best-selling author, clarified his statement by stating that homosexuals should not be granted the ability to change the definition of marriage, which he believes only to be between a man and a woman.
"It's just that they don't get to redefine everything for anybody else," Carson said. "So I'm very much a Libertarian in the sense of believing live and let live, but that goes in both directions and some people don't recognize that."
In an earlier interview with Newsmax's Ed Berliner, Carson said there may be ground for compromise between supporters of traditional marriage and the LGBT community.
"If they want to form some kind of relationship and call it something else, I don't have any problem with that," Carson said. "I don't think I can impose my will on any two consenting adults. They can do what they want to do. I'm not going to try to stop them from doing that, but they don't get to change the definition."
The renowned surgeon also compared gay rights activist's attempts to change the definition of marriage to incorrect mathematicians that try to impose newfound theories on other mathematicians.
"It is kind of like a new group of mathematicians that come along. They say, 'two plus two is five.' And the traditionalists say, 'no, it's four, has always been four and always will be four,'" Carson said. "And the new ones say, 'no, we insist that it's five.' Then the traditionalists say, 'for you, it will be five, but we are keeping it as four.' And the new ones say, 'no, no, it has to be five for you too."
Carson also asserted that it's ridiculous for people to be called homophobic because of their faith-based belief in traditional marriage and called for understanding and compromise.
"People have to be willing to understand that not everybody thinks the same way," Carson said. "What they have to be willing to do is engage in conversation. I talk a lot about getting rid of political correctness and replacing it with civil discourse."
Carson's assertions have fired up members of the LGBT community, who in response compared him to notorious dictator Adolf Hitler and terrorist group the Taliban for his "uneducated" and "dangerous" comments.
Christian groups, however, have praised him for his boldness.
"Thank God for such an astute, wise political leader," said Pastor Rick Salverge, who heads the Christian Political Alliance in Nashville, Tennessee.
"It will be all the more important in the upcoming presidential election to have a candidate who holds true to Biblical values regarding gay marriage."
