Dr. Ben Carson, after comparing marriage equality advocates to supporters of pedophilia and bestiality, and then apologizing “if anybody was offended” by those remarks, and then attacking his critics as “racist[s]” who were trying to portray him as a bigot, is back to apologizing for his “offensive” comments.

According to New York magazine, Carson, a professor of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School and nascent right-wing media star, sent an email to “the Hopkins Community” saying that he is “sorry for any embarrassment” his anti-gay comments may have caused them.

But what really saddens me is that my poorly chosen words caused pain for some members of our community and for that I offer a most sincere and heartfelt apology. Hurting others is diametrically opposed to who I am and what I believe. There are many lessons to be learned when venturing into the political world and this is one I will not forget. Although I do believe marriage is between a man and a woman, there are much less offensive ways to make that point. I hope all will look at a lifetime of service over some poorly chosen words.

Carson's apologetic email was sent just “a few minutes” after Paul Rothman, Johns Hopkins' dean of medical faculty, sent his own email calling Carson's remarks “hurtful, offensive,” and “inconsistent with the culture of our institution.”

Carson has been taking heat from almost all directions since making those remarks. The co-director of Johns Hopkins' sexuality studies program denounced his attacks on gays as “nasty, petty, and ill-informed,” and apparently more than half of the Johns Hopkins Medical School graduating class signed a petition objecting to Carson's selection as commencement speaker.