New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is publicly criticized comments by Texas Governor Rick Perry, who compared homosexuality to alcoholism in which people can choose to change their behavior, Reuters reported.
Perry said earlier this week in San Francisco that people may feel "compelled to follow a particular lifestyle" but have the ability to decide not to do that, according to Reuters.
Christie said he disagrees, saying it is not "an apt analogy and not one that should be made because I think it's wrong," according to Reuters.
Perry has strongly opposed the legalization of gay marriage in his state, Reuters reported.
Christie, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association, appeared Friday with California Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari, who also disagreed with Perry's comments, Reuters reported.
Christie has previously signed a state law barring so-called reparative therapy aimed at turning gay minors straight, which the Texas GOP endorsed last week, according to Reuters. The Texas Republican Party in the past week endorsed the policy of reparative therapy that aims to change gays to heterosexuals through counseling.
So-called "gay conversion therapy" among minors was banned in New Jersey last year, Reuters reported.
Perry's comments were met with criticism by gay rights groups and some people in the audience at the Commonwealth Club of California gasped in response, according to the local CBS affiliate, Reuters reported.
Christie vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New Jersey in 2012 then conceded defeat a year later, according to Reuters. The ruling allowed the Garden State to become the 14th to legalize gay marriage, which as of this week is legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
