Ryan Nicol
Democratic Rep. Jennifer Webb released a statement Wednesday condemning Republican Rep. Mike Hill, for his “refusal” to apologize after Hill was recorded laughing when a constituent suggested legalizing the killing of gay people.
Webb is a member of the LGBT community and is married to Cynthia Wurner.
The News Journal recently released audio detailing the Hill exchange.
A man in the audience cites 1 Corinthians, saying it supports putting gays to death, then asks Hill to sponsor legislation allowing the same. Hill is heard on tape laughing before saying, “I wonder how that would go over.”
Webb says Hill didn’t go far enough in his apology statement.
“When a State Representative can laugh (whether in cowardice or complicity) at introducing a policy to ‘stone gay people’ and then petulantly refuse to apologize without formal consequence, we know that we have ways to go in rooting out homophobia/transphobia in our society and institutions, even in our Capital,” Webb said.
Hill did issue a statement days after the controversy where he apologized for not correcting the questioner for misquoting the Bible. He also says he “deeply regret how the tone of (his) response” was received.
“No matter one’s race, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, economic status or otherwise, all lives are created equal in the image of God,” Hill added in the statement given to Pensacola conservative radio talk show host Burnie Thompson.
Hill originally argued the coverage of his response was “fake news.”
State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is also a member of the LGBT community, has called on Hill to resign.
Webb’s statement Wednesday not only condemns Hill’s comments but also calls on Leadership to punish the lawmaker for the incident.
“‘Stoning gay people’ is just one of many such historical references in our culture that serve as touchstones of hate. It would be no more appropriate to laugh at the idea of introducing a policy to ‘lynch African Americans,’ ‘gas Jewish people,’ ‘stone women,’ or ‘cleanse our population of those with disabilities’ than it is to ‘stone gay people,’ ” Webb said.
“So, in thinking through whether Rep. Hill should be removed from office, censured, stripped of his committee assignments or simply asked to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community, I encourage our House Leadership to think how they would handle these parallel situations.”
Several Republicans have publicly criticized Hill over the remarks, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker José Oliva. But Webb argued GOP leaders should take official action against Hill.
“For a failure to formally reprimand Rep. Hill for his comment is to allow hate to establish a deep taproot in Tallahassee and seriously undermine the foundation of the halls of democracy in our state Capital,” Webb said.
Webb also called on GOP lawmakers to support the Competitive Workforce Act, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in Florida.
