Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson has been forced to apologize for comments made on Wednesday in which he said prisoners ' changing their sexuality in jail proves that being gay is a choice . The retired neurosurgeon posted a statement on his Facebook page just hours later in which he said he 'realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues . ' ' I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation . I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive . For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended , ' he added . Scroll down for video . Republican presidential hopeful Carson has been forced to apologize for comments on Wednesday in which he claimed that prisoners ' changing their sexuality in jail proves that being gay is a choice . However Carson 's apology only went so far and he remains adamant that it is n't certain whether people are born either gay or straight . 'Some of our brightest minds have looked at this debate , and up until this point there have been no definitive studies that people are born into a specific sexuality , ' he said . Carson 's opinion is at odds with many in the medical community , including the American Psychological Association , who says 'most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation . ' Carson had landed himself in hot water on Wednesday morning after appearing on CNN 's New Day . Asked by Chris Cuomo if being gay was a choice , Carson replied : 'Absolutely . ' 'Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight - and when they come out , they 're gay . So , did something happen while they were in there ? Ask yourself that question , ' Carson said . He then spoke out against gay marriage . 'Why do gay people want to get married ? Why do they say they want to get married ? Because they want to have various rights - property rights , visitation rights , ' he said . Carson 's apology only went so far and he remains adamant that it is n't certain whether people are born either gay or straight . 'Why ca n't any two human beings , I do n't care what their sexual orientation is , why ca n't they have the legal right to do those things ? That does not require changing the definition of marriage . ' Carson said he believes marriage should be decided at the state level , this on the same day the Alabama Supreme Court ignored a federal ruling and in a near unanimous vote ordered the state 's probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples . Carson has long been outspoken on the subject of gay marriage , which he compared to bestiality and pedophilia in a 2013 speech . In an interview with Sean Hannity , Carson said ; '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 does n't matter what they are . ' He continued by saying ; 'They do n't get to change the definition . It 's not something that is against gays , it 's against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society . It has significant ramifications . ' The comments came as a shock at the time as up to that point Carson has come across as an affable and moderate Republican in a series of interviews . The backlash was so strong , especially among young Americans , that Carson was forced to withdraw from delivering the commencement address at his alma mater Johns Hopkins . Earlier this week Carson launched an exploratory committee to run for president , becoming the first high-profile Republican candidate to potentially enter the 2016 race .
The Republican presidential hopeful said prisoners ' changing their sexuality in jail proves that being gay is a choice on CNN 's New Day . Hours later he issued an apology in which he said 'my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues ' Carson remains adamant that it is n't certain whether people are born either gay or straight . Retired neurosurgeon also reiterated that he is against gay marriage .