Republican 2016 presidential hopeful Scott Walker, who opened his candidacy speech with an anecdote about his time in the Boy Scouts, has been trying to clarify his stance on gays being allowed to serve as employees and troop leaders in the organization.

As quoted on the Independent Journal Review, Walker addressed the Boy Scouts' recent decision to allow gays to be Scout leaders and said, “I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.”

After making this statement, during a brief news conference in South Carolina, Walker insisted that he was not pushing to save the ban at all, saying that the choice was “up to the Boy Scouts.”

He attempted to clarify his previous statement by saying that the protection he spoke of was “not a physical protection,” but instead one “protecting them from being involved in the very thing you’re talking about right now, the political and media discussion about it, instead of just focusing on what Scouts is about, which is about camping and citizenship and things of that nature.”

The Wisconsin governor’s initial remarks drew much ire from gay rights groups.

“Scott Walker’s suggestion that the Boy Scouts of America’s current discriminatory policy somehow ‘protects’ children from gay adults is offensive, outrageous and absolutely unacceptable,” said Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, as quoted in the New York Times.

“For a sitting governor and presidential candidate to make such a disgraceful claim is unconscionable,” added Griffin.

Over the weekend, Walker was asked by CNN's Dana Bash if he thought that being gay was a choice and admitted to his uncertainty, stating, "I don't know the answer to that question."

What Walker did seem to know was that his words regarding the ban on gays in the Boy Scouts had been misunderstood.

"I'm not talking about personal protection. I'm talking about, for me, the reason why I didn't have a problem with it is I just think it pulls Scouting into a whole larger political and cultural debate, as opposed to just saying Scouting is about camping and citizenship and merit badges and service awards, instead of pulling all these other issues out there. And I was just hoping that they could stay focused on that, that's all," said Walker.