Colorado Republican Ken Buck stood by a pair of controversial statements Sunday during a shaky nationally televised debate with Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. 
 
 Pressed by "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory, Buck said he believed that being gay was a lifestyle choice and expressed no regrets about his four-year-old characterization of an alleged rape as "buyer's remorse." 
 
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 The Weld County district attorney, who is opposed to repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, equated homosexuality to a lifestyle choice. 
 
 "You can choose who your partner is. I think birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism and some other things, but I think that basically you have a choice," Buck said. 
 
 He also defended his handling of an alleged rape in 2005 that he declined to prosecute because he believed some of the details appeared to show the woman in question consented to the sexual encounter. Months later, he told the Greeley Tribune that "a jury could very well conclude that this is a case of buyer's remorse." 
 
 "I don't regret the way I talked to her. I think it is important that a prosecutor approach a victim with a certain amount of reality, and that's what I've tried to do with this victim. I didn't blame her at all," Buck said. 
 
 He said he used the "buyer's remorse" term to explain how the woman regretted her relationship with the man, who was her ex-lover. "When someone decides to make a case public, the public has to understand why," Buck said. 
 
 Bennet seized on Buck's defense, arguing his opponent's handling of the victim was an issue in their closely contested race. 
 
 "He just used the language again, buyer's remorse, and as the father of three little girls, I just think that's the wrong way to talk about it." 
 
 Afterward, in an interview with reporters, Bennet pointed to these two moments as the most memorable of the 30-minute face-off, calling Buck's answers "deeply troubling." 
 
 Buck acknowledged he was nervous making his first appearance on the longest-running Sunday morning talk show and said he didn't know if he made any mistakes. 
 
 "I don't know — you guys will make that determination," he said, going on to downplay the relevance of social issues in the campaign. 
 
 "The social issues that come before the Senate are fairly narrow, and if someone asks me a question on "Meet the Press," I'm going to answer the question. [The] reality is, there isn't that much in the United States Senate that is going to influence those kinds of issues." 

 [There was a video here] 
 
 Is being gay "a choice"? Sort of, according to Colorado Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck. But "birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism." Homosexuality is just like a crippling addictive disease! Except, you're addicted to... oh, never mind.
– GOP Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck has already made headlines by calling birthers "dumbasses" and asking for votes based on the fact he doesn't "wear high heels." Now, the Tea Party favorite has compared homosexuality to ... alcoholism. Asked if being gay is "'a choice," Buck tells Meet the Press that, yes, though "birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism, I think that basically you have a choice." Right, jokes Gawker's Max Read, "homosexuality is just like a crippling addictive disease! Except, you're addicted to... oh, never mind..." (Click here for more on Colorado's senate race.)