Mobile County Treasurer Phil Benson is facing mounting criticism after a Facebook comment he wrote about a national discrimination case drew accusations of homophobia and calls for accountability from across the political spectrum.
The remark appeared on June 12 beneath a post on the Mobile County Republican Party’s Facebook page. The post linked to an article about Jack Phillips, the Colorado bakery owner whose 2012 refusal to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple sparked a long-running legal fight over discrimination and religious liberty. The article specifically detailed a newer lawsuit filed against Phillips by Autumn Scardina, a transgender woman who says the baker also refused to make her a cake to mark her gender transition.
Commenting on the story, Benson wrote that Phillips “needs to move to a place he is wanted,” adding, “Freaking queers have gotten too much sympathy. A real abomination.”
The comment sat largely unnoticed for several days before a local television reporter spotted it and began asking questions. Once the story broke, criticism from LGBTQ advocates and their allies was swift, with many describing Benson’s word choice as hateful, homophobic and inappropriate for a public official.
Rather than walk the remark back, Benson doubled down. He told reporters this week that he was “sorry if people were offended,” but argued the public should be more troubled by the government’s treatment of Phillips than by his own language. “It didn’t bother anyone that the government stuck their nose into a private business and fined some poor guy $135,000 because he refused to bake a cake for some ‘freaking queers,'” Benson said. “It’s a ’60s term. It’s not politically correct today, but it was the term when I grew up.”
County officials were quick to note that, despite carrying the title of county treasurer, Benson is not a county employee. A Mobile County Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the controversy, pointing out that the treasurer’s office, like the sheriff, license commissioner and revenue commissioner, is a separately elected, at-large position with no direct oversight from the commission itself.
Benson has held the treasurer’s office since 2012 and said he does not expect the fallout to derail his plans to seek another term in 2020. He said he has received only a handful of emails and comments in response to the controversy, though he acknowledged some messages struck him as “offensive” and “almost threatening.”
Even so, Benson’s comments were shared widely on social media in the days after the story surfaced, with many calling for him to resign or be removed from office. Rainbow Mobile, one of the region’s most active organizations supporting LGBTQ residents and their allies, responded to the controversy with a measured statement rather than an outright condemnation.
“We at Rainbow Mobile are working to make the city and county of Mobile a better place for everyone, no matter our differences,” Executive Director Bryan Fuenmayor said in a statement. “To that end, we would like to invite Phil Benson to sit down with us and learn more about the LGBTQ people he serves in Mobile County. We hope he will take us up on this offer.”
The backlash has not been limited to LGBTQ advocacy groups. Fellow Alabama Republicans have moved to distance themselves from Benson’s remarks. The Mobile County Republican Party removed his original comment from its Facebook page once the story gained traction, noting in a statement that the six-day-old post did not reflect “appropriate language.”
“The comments made by a Mobile County elected official are his own and they do NOT in any way reflect the policies or beliefs of the Mobile County Republican Party nor any of its other members,” the local party wrote. “We do not wish for his comments to be published further on our Facebook page. He can express his comments in any way he wishes on his own page.”
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan also weighed in, saying Benson’s remarks reflected only on himself. “Mr. Benson’s comments represent his own personal opinion,” Lathan said. “I find them to be unnecessary, divisive and reflect solely on himself.”
As of this week, Benson had not issued any further public statement beyond his initial defense of the comment, and no formal action to remove him from office had been proposed by county or state officials.