While speaking to the Commonwealth Club in California on Wednesday, Republican Gov. Rick Perry likened homosexuality to alcoholism, describing both as a lifestyle choice that people make.

"Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that. I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way," said the potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco, reports the Washington Post. Although the crowd included many of his supporters, the comments still drew murmurs and shock from the audience, according to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

During the speech, Perry also announced that he does not support efforts to combat climate change that would "strangle" the economy. That includes expanding the "cap and trade" system in California which puts a cap on the amount of carbon emissions within a state.

He went on to defend and advocate for the use of fracking to tap into oil and gas reserves, arguing that it helped stimulate an economic surplus in his home state. Likewise, he stated that California should also develop its own shale formation.

"It's up to you to determine the course of this state, to decide whether you live in a regulatory state or one that emphasizes freedom and growth, whether you tap into your energy potential or develop only certain forms of clean energy," Perry said. "Those decisions should be yours. But I do know this -- the fastest way to rev up the economy is for America to develop all forms of energy."

Furthermore, when asked about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's upsetting defeat in the Virginia primary election to Tea Party favorite Dave Brat, Perry said that Cantor should have spent more time in his district.

"Having been involved in elected office for 30 years now, it's pretty simple: Spend plenty of time in your home district," he said.