Welcome to “This Week In Crazy,” The National Memo’s weekly update on the wildest attacks, conspiracy theories, and other loony behavior from the increasingly unhinged right wing. Starting with number five:

5. Ben Carson

On Tuesday, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and noted crazy person Ben Carson took another concrete step toward a 2016 presidential campaign.

It took him less than 24 hours to say something insane.

During an interview with CNN, Dr. Carson took it upon himself to explain to America how he knows that being gay is really a choice: Prison rape!

“A lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight, and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there?” Carson mused. “Ask yourself that question.”

Predictably, this did not go over well. The backlash was so swift and severe that Carson broke his usual pattern and apologized. He then announced that he is done talking about the issue — which is probably the sanest thing he’s done since he was still a practicing surgeon.

4. Gordon Klingenschmitt
Demon-hunting Colorado state representative Gordon Klingenschmitt returns to the list at number four, for proving that he is still the undisputed king of religious-right paranoia.

On the Tuesday edition of his “Pray in Jesus Name” program, Klingenschmitt offered his thoughts on last month’s murders in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The case, in which three people were fatally shot by their upstairs neighbor, attacted widespread media attention due to fears that the killing was an anti-Muslim hate crime.

Perhaps surprisingly, Klingenschmitt agrees: The murders were a hate crime.

Against Christians.

“An American atheist has killed three Muslims in North Carolina, because they were like Christians!” he declared. Naturally, he went on to explain that this was the Southern Poverty Law Center’s fault.

Some people may be offended by Klingenschmitt’s ridiculous adherence to the Christian right’s persecution complex. But those who are familiar with his work might be tempted to applaud him instead; “they were acting Christian” is probably the nicest thing he’ll ever say about Muslims.

3. Louie Gohmert
Michele Bachmann may be gone, but the House of Representatives is not lacking for congresspeople who believe that we are in the End Times.

The latest example is Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who called in to the “Point of View” radio show on Tuesday to explain how President Obama is inviting God’s wrath on the United States.

“I don’t know if you saw this story,” Gohmert lamented, “but it was reported from Nigeria that this administration said unless you change your law to allow same-sex marriage, then we’re not going to help you against the radical Islamists Boko Haram, which is killing Christians, having young girls raped and sold into sex slavery.”

Of course, if Steve Stockman and WorldNetDailysaid it, it has to be true.

According to Gohmert, this totally-not-made-up “fact” is yet another sign of the looming Apocalypse.

“I am very afraid since I know…that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether,” the congressman said. “It doesn’t matter how many people in America are faithful followers, we have put into place leaders who may bring down judgment on the United States if we don’t start helping the good guys.”

I suppose that’s what we get for electing the leader of the Ayatollah Caucus as president.

2. David McKinley
It’s no secret that congressional Republicans are not big on climate science — but even by their standards, the latest legislative assault on science is absurd.

This week, the House considered a bill intended to undercut the scientific consensus on climate change: The Science Advisory Board Reform Act, which would alter the rules governing who can serve on the Science Advisory Board — a group that advises the EPA. Many Democrats and outside observers warn that the bill would open the floodgates for more corporate influence on the board, and curtail its ability to defend public health.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) added an amendment that really kicks things up a notch. It would ban the EPA from ever considering the following reports when making decisions related to the SAB:

• The United States Global Climate Research Program National Climate Assessment
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report
• The United Nations’ Agenda 21 Sustainable Development Plan
• The May 2013 Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order No. 12866
• The July 2014 Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations’ Pathways to Deep Decarbonization Report

In other words, as Grist’s David Roberts explains:

When considering what to do about carbon pollution, EPA may not consider what America’s best scientists have concluded about it, what an international panel of scientists has concluded about it, how the federal government has officially recommended calculating its value, or the most comprehensive solutions for it. Oh, and it can’t consider Agenda 21 either. Otherwise the EPA can go nuts.

Once the bill passes the House, it will advance to the Senate — where it will presumably be shepherded to passage by Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who last week brought a snowball into the chamber to prove that climate change is a hoax.

1. Kris Kobach
This week’s “winner,” Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, is best known for being the GOP’s “go-to guy” for anti-immigrant extremism. But as he proved this week on his radio show, Kobach is plenty capable of offending people of all races.

While discussing the University of Minnesota’s move to limit the use of racial descriptions in campus crime alerts, Kobach took a call from someone who warned that “given the recent story that Obama was instructing immigration enforcement to not enforce the immigration laws against illegal aliens, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch, Kris, to envision an announcement that any black person accused of a crime, charged with a crime, is not going to be prosecuted, regardless of the crime.”

Despite the glaring evidence to the contrary, Kobach agreed.

“Well, it’s already happened more or less in the case of civil rights laws,” he replied. “So I guess it’s not a huge jump, I think it’s unlikely, but you know I’ve learned to say with this president, never say never.”

Right Wing Watchhas the audio:

Of course, the notion that President Obama will ban the criminal prosecution of black Americans is ridiculous. After all, thanks to his executive actions on immigration, Hispanic-Americans will kill everyone else before he even gets the chance.

Check out previous editions of This Week In Crazy here. Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments!

Get This Week In Crazy delivered to your inbox every Friday, by signing up for our daily email newsletter.

Screenshot: KansasWatchdogTV’s channel/YouTube