Identity of Speakers
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Ben Carson
Unaffiliated
Invited for non-academic lectureBen Carson is a neurosurgeon and 2016 Republican presidential candidate.
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
University-sponsored lecture/address/panel
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Incident Political Orientation:
Right-of-spectrum -
Incident Responses:
Rally or Protests
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Did not involve Speech Codes
Summary
Ben Carson is a neurosurgeon and 2016 Republican presidential candidate. In 2013, Carson was invited to be the commencement speaker at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. However, in a March 2013 appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Carson said that “[m]arriage is between a man and a woman…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.” In response to these comments, Johns Hopkins students circulated a petition opposing Carson’s appearance at the graduation. In April 2013, Carson withdrew as commencement speaker and cancelled his participation in a diploma ceremony at the university’s school of education.
