Carson: No ‘extra rights’ for gay Americans

President Trump’s Cabinet pick Ben Carson reiterated his belief Thursday that LGBT Americans don’t deserve “extra rights.”

During Carson’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) pressed the Housing and Urban Development nominee about whether he would enforce LGBT protections in the public housing sector.

“Of course, I would enforce all the laws of the land,” Carson responded. “Of course, I think all Americans should be protected by the law.”

{mosads}

“What I have said before is I don’t think anyone should get ‘extra rights,’” he added.

Carson’s remarks mirror those from his 2014 CPAC speech: “Of course gay people should have the same rights as everyone else, but they don’t get extra rights,” Carson said at the time. “They don’t get to redefine marriage.”

Carson, a conservative Christian, has often run afoul of the LGBT community, suggesting they take advantage of “political correctness.”

During a 2015 speech to the Iowa Freedom Summit, Carson addressed religious freedom concerns raised by Christian bakers who argued it violates their faith to bake wedding cakes for gay people.

“[That] is really not all that smart, because they might put poison in that cake,” Carson joked.