UPDATE Ben Carson Explores Running for President

Dr. Ben Carson, only a week after announcing a presidential exploratory committee, issued another statement on his Facebook. In this latest post Dr. Ben Carson apologized for saying people who change their sexual orientation after going to jail shows that “being gay is a choice. Carson also suggested that two people – regardless of sexual orientation – should be legally allowed to determine property rights and visitation rights. Carson’s nuanced response to the question of gay marriage has earned him much scorn from various groups. The former surgeon has,however, shown no sign of dropping out of the race for president.

Dr. Ben Carson announced on his Facebook page yesterday that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee to determine whether he should run for President of the United States. This is the first formal step towards a presidential run. The formation of an exploratory committee does not officially mean that Carson will join the race, although it is an indication that he is taking the possibility very seriously. On his Facebook announcement, he wrote, ” If I believe that I have your support and your commitment to help, I will run for President to lead this great country to a brighter future.”

He also stated that he will consider the possibility of a run carefully over the next few months before announcing anything, one way or the other. He held a special teleforum for his fans last night at 6:30pm EST, during which he discussed his potential run and his positions on the issues. The teleforum was open the the public.

In the same post, he introduced his new website- bencarson.com- which is marked ‘exploratory committee’ on the front page, but other than that, looks very much like the website of a candidate. It contains his biography with special attention to his noteworthy achievements, a contact form, and a donation button.

His site also bears the tagline, “Unite Heal Thrive,” a slogan Carson has used in the past.