Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg pushed back at Vice President Mike Pence, who has been criticized for his controversial positions on LGBTQ issues, saying that if the conservative veep is disturbed by him being gay, then he has a problem with “my creator.”

The openly gay mayor of South Bend, Ind., told members of the Victory Fund, a group that advocates for LGBTQ political candidates, about how difficult it was for him to come out in 2015, arguing that it wasn’t a personal decision.

“If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade,” he said at the Sunday luncheon. “And that’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand. That if you got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me – your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

Buttigieg, a 37-year-old Afghan War veteran, went on to say his marriage has brought him closer to God.

“Being married to Chasten has made me a better human being because it has made me more compassionate, more understanding, more self-aware and more decent,” he told the audience in Washington. “My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man. And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God.”

Pence, a former governor of Indiana, has said being gay is a “choice.”

He opposes marriage equality because it would lead to “societal collapse” and the decay of marriage and family.

With Post wires