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With an uproar surrounding him, Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino made a rare apology Tuesday while stumping upstate.

"My entire life, I have never equivocated at all on defending gay rights," Paladino said.

While speaking before a group of conservative Brooklyn Jews this past weekend, the Buffalo businessman had all but declared homosexuality a choice.

The speech has drawn sharp criticism even from fellow Republicans and brought hecklers to Paladino's trip to two Hudson Valley stops.

In a letter released after his trip to the region ended, the Republican says he was sorry for his "poorly chosen words." It went on to say, "I sincerely apologize for any comment that may have offended the Gay and Lesbian Community or their family members. Any reference to branding an entire community based on a small representation of them is wrong."

Notably, Paladino is not backing off his stated disgust for gay pride parades, but says he fears his remarks could lead to more attacks, like the one on three men in the Bronx a gang had accused of being gay.

"Ugly. Horrible. My God. I didn't want any questions on this topic, because I don't want this feeding frenzy of nonsense going on in the press to hurt anybody," Paladino said.

Paladino's apology comes as polls show Democrat Andrew Cuomo's lead is widening, in part because the Republican is having so much trouble staying on message.

Cuomo declined to comment on the apology, but is mentioning Paladino's "extremist views" in a new fundraising pitch.