Carson defends transgender comments and asks the media to "misdescribe"

Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben CarsonBenjamin (Ben) Solomon Carson's remarks during the visit to San Francisco during the visit to San Francisco caused a shock among the Democrats who thanked the HUD for having removed the LGBT language from the competition on subsidies. . On Friday, he defended his remarks earlier this week about transgender people, sending an agency-wide e-mail denouncing what he called "blatant misinterpretations" of his remarks in the press.

"At a recent meeting with local staff in San Francisco, I mentioned the fact that many women's groups had talked about the difficulty they had with women's shelters, because sometimes men claimed to be women, "said Carson. The Washington Post.

"This put many women at risk, and one of the groups described a situation in which" big hairy men "would come in and should be accepted into the women's shelter even though it made women very badly at ease. "

He added, "What I wanted to say is that we need to authorize policies that take into account the rights of all, including women – many of whom have been victims of male domestic violence – who believe that they are the only ones in the world. there are men who can harm them. "

Carson said that he thought "everyone has value," Carson said. It is up to the government to "make sure everyone is treated fairly and equitably," reported The Post.

He said that he would "generally not respond to media reports", but since the "misinterpretations" of his statements "are spread irresponsibly, I believe that it is important to make things clear. "

Carson unleashed violent reactions on Thursday after the Washington Post reported that he had been talking about "big hairy men" trying to get into shelters for homeless women at a meeting in the office of the agency in San Fransisco, while three people had interpreted his remark as a reference. transgender women.

Two staff members of the agency told the newspaper that he also complained that society no longer knew the difference between men and women, which led many people to the meeting and at least a woman to leave in protest.

Several Democrats have criticized Carson's reported remarks and renewed their calls for resignation following his comments with Rep. Jennifer WextonJennifer Lynn WextonBen Carson's remarks during the visit to San Francisco sparked negative reactions among Democrats for dissuading LGBT language from grant competition Lawmakers beat journalists at the annual spelling competition. (D-Va.) Judging his "revolting" remarks.

"These comments only confirm that his recent efforts to erase the equal access rule are based on ignorance and not on sound politics. By allowing shelters to discriminate against transgender Americans, the secretary puts lives at risk, "she said.

Carson has already sparked controversy over talk about transgender people. he says the hill In 2016, being transgender "makes no sense." According to La Poste, he also said transgender people were "abnormal" and should not be in the military.