Florida Politician Under Fire for Laughing About Putting Gays to Death

A state legislator in Florida is getting calls to apologize or resign after audio surfaced of him laughing when a constituent suggested introducing legislation providing for the death penalty for homosexuality.

Rep. Mike Hill, a Pensacola Republican, held a meeting May 23 with a group called Women for Responsible Legislation. One attendee asked him why a Republican representative from a neighboring district, Alex Andrade, was cosponsoring the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Florida's Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. The bill has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, but leaders of the chambers have kept it from having a hearing.

Hill responded that it would be best to ask Andrade, but said he himself does not support the bill and does not think these characteristics should be put on an equal footing with race and sex, which are not a choice -- implying that sexual orientation and gender identity are. He then backtracked a bit on that idea but said people can choose not to engage in certain behaviors.

Then, as documented in audio circulated by LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida today, another person at the meeting brought up the Bible, saying, "In First Corinthians, it says a man who has an affair with another man shall be put to death." Hill replied, "Says that in the Old Testament too." The questioner then said, "Can you introduce legislation?" and Hill laughed and responded, "Yeah, I wonder how that would go over."

Listen to the audio here, via Rick's Blog.

Equality Florida has called on Hill to apologize immediately. "Words matter. The comments made by Representative Mike Hill ... are both deeply disturbing and dangerous," said Brandon Wolf, a Pulse massacre survivor and Equality Florida media relations manager, in a press release. "Representative Hill should be embarrassed and ashamed for laughing along with the suggestion that he file legislation requiring the execution of LGBTQ people. We live in a diverse and inclusive state where the overwhelming majority of Floridians agree that no one should be discriminated against based on who they are or who they love. In less than two weeks our community prepares to mark three years since Pulse, the most deadly attack on LGBTQ people in this nation's history, and we have never been more aware of how degrading and dehumanizing LGBTQ people causes harm."

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the first openly gay Latino legislator in Florida, has demanded that Hill either apologize or resign.

And Pensacola News Journal staffer Andy Marlette published an opinion column today saying Hill has proved himself unfit for office. "Did Hill and his followers at the meeting actually believe this was a Christian conversation to have?" he wrote. "Killing their fellow men? Making new laws to justify murder? Giggling about the mere possibility of the idea?"

"In a state where not so long ago, many innocent people were infamously targeted and executed at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, it is unthinkable that a state legislator harbors such similarly evil ideas about gay citizens," Marlette continued, concluding that "Hill has proven himself un-Christian and unfit to represent the people of Pensacola."

In the same meeting, Hill said God told him to introduce an abortion ban similar to Alabama's, the News Journal reports. He also promised to reintroduce previously failed bills seeking to repeal gun restrictions that were enacted after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and protect historical monuments, including those honoring the Confederacy.

The Advocate has requested comment from Hill but has received no response. There is also no record of comment on his Twitter feed or Facebook page, or in Florida media outlets.