“On behalf of the medical community, I denounce Ken Buck’s comments. We feel he should retract his statements. Science does not support his view…. I feel strongly that we should not be giving fodder for extremist ideology with statements contrary to the facts,” said Dr. Mark Thrum to a clutch of reporters this week in Denver referring to comments made by the Weld County DA and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. That was Tuesday. The topic was homosexuality. Today is Thursday. The topic is now climate change.

Buck spent Wednesday telling concerned supporters in college town Fort Collins to ignore his comments this past weekend on Meet the Press, in which he declared that he believed homosexuality is a choice and that gays should resist same-sex attraction the way alcoholics should resist the temptation to drink.

“Let’s just stay focused on economic issues for the next 13 days,” he said. Not even Buck could stick to that plan.

As Bob Moore at the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports, hours later Buck attended a fundraiser in Loveland, not a college town, that featured Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, an insurance salesman who received his bachelor’s degree at age 38, who has no scientific training and who is the most vocal global warming skeptic in American politics. Inhofe has called global warming “the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state.” He is also one of the country’s most ardent opponents of equal rights for gay people.

Buck celebrated Inhofe as a leader.

“Sen. Inhofe was the first person to stand up and say this global warming is the greatest hoax that has been perpetrated. The evidence just keeps supporting his view, and more and more people’s view, of what’s going on,” Buck said.

Trevor Kincaid, spokesman for Buck opponent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, told Moore that Buck’s opposition to science was… disturbing.

“The simple fact that Ken Buck doesn’t believe in proven science is troubling and calls into question his understanding of more complex issues. It helps explain why he would oppose developing the new energy economy that would create jobs right here in Colorado.”

Spurred by Buck’s Meet the Press anti-gay statements, equal-rights group One Colorado is circulating a petition asking Buck to retract his statements and acknowledge the overwhelming scientific evidence that being gay is not a choice or a disease.

Below some quotes from the Tuesday conference in Denver that gain power in light of Buck’s support of Inhofe.

Psychologist Sarah Burgamy:

“Buck’s statements were just wholly inaccurate according to every bit of research and science [the professional psychological field] has compiled…. The American Psychological Association which is the largest body of psychologists in the world, affirmed over three decades ago that homosexuality is not a disease and disorder and that’s been the case for years. Every bit of analysis says the same thing. It’s a healthy variation of human sexuality.

“When spreading inaccuracies from such a high-profile position… that goes home [to] extreme negative effect.. It’s a dangerous context to support.”

Dr. Mark Thrun public health physician:

“In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual… In other words, [gay people] don’t have any treatable disease that Ken Buck seemed to allude to. The American Psychological Association has for many, many years asserted that homosexuality is not a choice but rather an ingrained and essential aspect of who someone is….

“On behalf of the medical community we denounce Ken Buck’s comments. We feel he should retract his statements. Science does not support his view that homosexuality is a treatable disorder. It is not a choice, and that is affirmed by science.

“I feel strongly that we should not be giving fodder for extremist ideology with statements contrary to the facts.”

A Climate change science petition is likely on the way.