Dr. Benjamin Carson drama continues as students at Johns Hopkins University are circulating a petition to replace the Republican darling as commencement speaker after he linked gay marriage to pedophilia and bestiality in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
The petition, which was posted on a Facebook page for the student-run Health and Human Rights Student Group, describes Carson as “a world-class neurosurgeon and passionate advocate for education,” but concludes that his “expressed values are incongruous with the values of Johns Hopkins and deeply offensive to a large proportion our student body.”
Carson, who is set to retire this year as the university’s director of pediatric neurosurgery, told Hannity on Tuesday that opposite-sex marriage is “a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality — it doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.” Source
There’s nothing wrong with Dr. Benjamin Carson voicing his on policy issues, but to start insulting others on the basis of their sexual orientation, religion or creed is wrong. It diminishes him as a person on so many levels. He is spewing the same vitriol as right wing evangelical wingnuts. I am sorry, but Dr. Benjamin Carson is becoming an embarrassment on the national platform. Imagine if he were really running for the GOP presidential nomination?
Here’s the full letter posted on Facebook:
We are writing to express concern about the selection of Dr. Ben Carson as the commencement speaker for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Class of 2013.
At the time of his nomination, Dr. Carson was known to most of us as a world-class neurosurgeon and passionate advocate for education. Many of us had read his books and looked up to him as a role model in our careers.
Since then, however, several public events have cast serious doubt on the appropriateness of having Dr. Carson speak at our graduation.
On March 26, on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program, Dr. Carson compared gay relationships with pedophilia and bestiality: “Well, my thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition. “
On February 7, Dr. Carson used the National Prayer Breakfast speech— which, like our commencement ceremony, is an historically nonpartisan event — to deride Obamacare, advocate lower taxes for the wealthy, and suggest that Christianity requires supporting Republican policies.
Dr. Carson has also used his platform as a famous neurosurgeon to promote the rejection of evolution: “Ultimately, if you accept the evolutionary theory,” he said, in a statement that would apply to the majority of students and faculty at Johns Hopkins, “you dismiss ethics, you don’t have to abide by a set of moral codes, you determine your own conscience based on your own desires.” This belief of Dr. Carson’s was unknown to many of us at the time of his nomination.
We retain the highest respect for Dr. Carson’s achievements and value his right to publicly voice political views. Nevertheless, we feel that these expressed values are incongruous with the values of Johns Hopkins and deeply offensive to a large proportion our student body.
As a result, we believe he is an inappropriate choice of speaker at a ceremony intended to celebrate the achievements of our class. We hope the administration of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine will select an alternative speaker that better represents the values of our student body and of our great University.
If you support the selection of another speaker, please sign this petition.
Watch Dr. Benjamin Carson denigrate the LGBT community on Fox News:
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