Carson Willing to Step Down as Commencement Speaker After Protests 29 Mar 2013 Greg Richter. A pediatric neurosurgeon who has become the darling of conservatives since speaking against nationalized healthcare is now under fire for comments he made about same-sex marriage. Dr. Benjamin Carson told “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on Friday that he would be willing to step down as commencement speaker at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine after faculty and students signed petitions asking that he not speak. “I would say this is their day, and the last thing I would want to do is rain on their...