“Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, in defending against criticisms of his relaxed demeanor on the campaign trail, opened up about his past ‘volatile’ behavior during an interview that aired Sunday,” cbsnews.com reports. “‘I have plenty of energy. But, you know, I am soft-spoken. I do have a tendency to be relaxed. I wasn’t always like that. There was a time when I was, you know, very volatile,’ Carson told NBC News. ‘But, you know, I changed.'” How volatile? . . . .
The retired neurosurgeon went on to explain that “as a teenager, I would go after people with rocks, and bricks, and baseball bats, and hammers.” He also spoke about the time, at 14 years old, when he “tried to stab someone” — a well-known story of Carson attacking a friend during an argument over preferred radio stations. He missed: the knife hit the teenager’s belt buckle and snapped.
Note: Carson wasn’t charged with attempted murder for this incident. Or assault with a dangerous weapon. Or anything, as far as we know (his record may have been expunged). But his admission about “going after people” with deadly weapons raises questions about Carson’s position on firearms freedom.
In the wide-ranging interview on NBC News, the Republican contender also spoke about gun control and his stance in staunchly backing the Second Amendment.
“Noah Webster said that America would never suffer under tyranny if people were armed,” Carson said, repeating an oft-quoted line from the campaign trail. But, “of course, we should be thinking about what can we do to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of mentally unstable people.” The two things, Carson added, “are not incompatible.”
I reckon a 14-year-old trying to stab someone over the choice of radio stations is mentally unstable. I’d also like to bring-up the wider point raised by this example: what if someone is charged, tried and convicted of attempted murder serves his time, turns his or her life around, and wants to keep and bear arms?
In light of his own background of criminal violence, what’s Ben Carson’s postion on restoring convicted criminals’ gun rights? Now that would be a ‘volatile’ discussion . . .