Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said Monday in a Q&A on Facebook that he had not seen a body with bullet holes "more devastating" than it would be to take away the right to bear arms.
On Facebook, a commenter Carson identified as Dan, asked the doctor whether his stance on gun rights had wavered following the community college mass shooting in Oregon.
"He wants to know if the tragedy has altered my position as a supporter of the Second Amendment," Carson wrote.
Noting that he had grown up in "the slums of Detroit," where he saw gun violence and, as a doctor, he had spent "many a night pulling bullets out of bodies," Carson said, "There is no doubt that this senseless violence is breathtaking — but I never saw a body with bullet holes that was more devastating than taking the right to arm ourselves away."
Washington (CNN)GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson recounted Wednesday a story about being held at gunpoint, amid backlash over comments he made about the Oregon community college shooting in which he suggested victims of the shooting could have done more to fight back.
"I have had a gun held on me when I was in a Popeye's organization" in Baltimore, the retired neurosurgeon told Karen Hunter on Sirius XM Radio, referring to the fried chicken fast-food chain.
"Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs. And I just said, 'I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,'" Carson.
The presidential hopeful's telling of the encounter is at odds with a controversial answer he gave on Tuesday when asked about how he would respond to a potential gunman by Fox News' "Fox and Friends" host Brian Kilmeade.
"Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say, 'Hey, guys, everybody attack him! He may shoot me but he can't get us all,'" Carson had said.
Carson's latest comments come as backlash has grown in response to his "Fox and Friends" interview.
Mathew Downing, who survived the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon after being dramatically spared by the gunman, criticized Carson's answer on Wednesday.
"I'm fairly upset he said that. Nobody could truly understand what actions they would take like that in a situation unless they lived it," he told CNN via Facebook.
The GOP presidential candidate has clarified the remarks he made on Fox News, saying Tuesday night on that network that he was "not judging (the shooting victims) at all."
edit: like not the ones who like to murder people, the ones that have no empathy
This could make sense. And it may even be an excellent quality for a neurosurgeon. He can focus on the exact job and not worry that there's a person's life at stake.
Fuck you, Ben Carson. There are parents in Newtown who had to identify their children by their clothing because parts of their faces were missing. So fuck right off with that, you son of a bitch.
And I just DO NOT understand why the right to bare arms is more important than the right to life.
Well, the right to bear arms is actually in the Bill of Rights, whereas the right to life is merely in the preamble, and no one actually reads that! Now, the right to bare arms isn't listed anywhere. No one wants to see your ashy elbows!! Lol.
And I just DO NOT understand why the right to bare arms is more important than the right to life.
Well, the right to bear arms is actually in the Bill of Rights, whereas the right to life is merely in the preamble, and no one actually reads that! Now, the right to bare arms isn't listed anywhere. No one wants to see your ashy elbows!! Lol.
EVERY time I write that out, I always think "it's not BARE" and then this time I did it.... LOL.
And yes, I know that it's in the Bill of Rights, but it's just the overall concept that owning a GUN is more important to people than the lives of the many people killed needlessly by guns.
Well, the right to bear arms is actually in the Bill of Rights, whereas the right to life is merely in the preamble, and no one actually reads that! Now, the right to bare arms isn't listed anywhere. No one wants to see your ashy elbows!! Lol.
EVERY time I write that out, I always think "it's not BARE" and then this time I did it.... LOL.
And yes, I know that it's in the Bill of Rights, but it's just the overall concept that owning a GUN is more important to people than the lives of the many people killed needlessly by guns.
I know you know that. I was trying to be funny, but it's hard before my first pot of coffee!
I think whoever said he might be a sociopath is right on. How do you look at a dead body and think "Welp, sucks for you, but at least I get to keep my guns"?
This is kinda what I wonder about too. Is he ever again going to be well known for his accomplishments after this election is over?
I don't see how. I really don't. When he first started to pop on the political landscape, I thought "Oh, huh - interesting. He's darn smart" and being SO respected in Baltimore, I had good thoughts at first.
But now? He's making a mockery of his legacy. He just seems DUMB to me now and I've lost ALL respect. I can't reconcile that this is the same Ben Carson who was the revered neurosurgeon.