Throughout the past week, One Colorado and Progress

Now Colorado have collected over 1,500 signatures on a petition calling on Ken Buck to retract the outrageous, dangerous statements he made on Meet the Press on Sunday, October 17. On the show, Buck compared being gay or lesbian to having a disease like alcoholism and said people choose their sexual orientation.

The call for Buck to retract his remarks was made at an October 19 press conference held at One Colorado’s Denver office. At that press conference, medical professionals voiced outrage and provided evidence to debunk Buck’s irresponsible comments.In addition, the mother of a gay son invited Buck to coffee to discuss the issue and the impact his words can have on young people.

“With national attention focused on the devastating impact of bullying and harassment in our schools, adults—especially public figures—should be setting the example, not fueling the fires of hatred or perpetuating biased untruths,”

said Brad Clark, Executive Director of One Colorado.

“Despite widespread public outcry, scientific evidence that refutes his claims, and even a mention on Saturday Night Live, Ken Buck has not responded to requests for a retraction. Instead, he has asked Coloradans to forget about his comments, claiming that people don’t care about this issue. He wants to be a public servant, and he is ignoring the public,”

Clark said.

In response, Clark is delivering the petition—and its 1,500-plus signatures that represent tens of thousands of Coloradans—to Buck in person today at 11 a.m., asking him one last time to retract his statements.

“The thousands of petition signatures that have been gathered in just one week show that Coloradans do care about this issue and about Buck’s continued extremism,” Clark said. “Fair-minded Coloradans have demanded a retraction; the mother of a gay son has extended an invitation for an in-person meeting; the medical and mental health community has refuted and debunked his statements. And Ken Buck has said and done nothing. We’re delivering the signatures to his office so he can see for himself that people in Colorado do care about this issue.”“Buck has made numerous comments showing that he is out of touch with mainstream Coloradans,”

said Kjersten Forseth, Executive Director of ProgressNow Colorado, the state’s largest online progressive advocacy organization.

“Buck’s comments claiming that being gay or lesbian is a choice and comparing it to alcoholism are one more example in a long line of extreme statements that have firmly positioned the GOP candidate outside the mainstream.”