The mayor of a small Alabama town is being asked to resign by city council members following inflammatory remarks he made on his Facebook page that he has since apologized for.
In posts that have been since deleted, Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers posted about the “killing” of LGBT people last Friday, according to CNN affiliate WBRC. Carbon Hill is a small town of fewer than 2,000 people about 55 miles northwest of Birmingham.
“We live in a society where homosexuals lecture us on morals, transvestites lecture us on human biology, baby killers lecture us on human rights and socialists lecture us on economics,” the main post from Chambers read in capital letters, WBRC reported.
A Facebook friend of Chambers then posted: “By giving the minority more rights than the majority. I hate to think of the country my grandkids will live in unless somehow we change and I think that will take a revolution.”
WBRC reported that in a now-deleted comment, Chambers responded: “The only way to change it would be to kill the problem out. I know it’s bad to say but without killing them out there’s no way to fix it.”
When initially questioned by WBRC, Chambers denied ever posting the comments, but later admitted to writing them and insisted that the comments were “taken out of context.”
Chambers posted an apology, since deleted, on his Facebook account Tuesday, according to CNN affiliate WBMA.
“I know that it was wrong to say anyone should be kill. I am truly sorry that I have embarrassed our City, I love this City and while in office I have done everything in my power to make this a better place for our families. There are not enough words for me to express how much a regret posting that comment,” read the post from his account.
CNN repeatedly reached out to Chambers for comment, but has not heard back. CNN also reached out to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, but her communications office declined to comment.
Two Alabama LGBT advocacy groups have started petitions calling for Chambers’ resignation. Combined, the petitions have more than 1,000 signatures.
April Herron, a Carbon Hill city councilwoman, called for Chambers’ resignation Tuesday in a letter she signed with two other city council members, WBMA reported.
Herron told CNN she knows Chambers well and that his words aren’t an accurate reflection of his character, or that of the town.
“I don’t believe he sincerely meant his words, but he said them. So I had to condemn them,” Herron said. “His words are not an accurate representation of us. In Carbon Hill, everybody loves everybody.”
Councilman Clarence Colbert says Chambers should not resign, telling WBRC that he has been working hard for the city.
“Carbon Hill has never had a black police chief until they got Mayor Chambers in office. He hired the first black police chief,” Colbert said.
The mayor earlier this week said he would not resign, according to the Daily Mountain Eagle newspaper in nearby Jasper.
Herron also said the public response on Facebook and Twitter was unjust.
“There’s one negative thing that happens in this town and a thousand positives. It’s a shame that it takes something like this to be in the spotlight for a great small town like this,” Herron said.
CNN’s Amir Vera contributed to this report.