An Alabama Mayor Blamed Facebook Settings For His Own Homophobic Comments

By Lauren Rearick


First, he made anti-choice and homophobic statements on his personalized Facebook page. Right now, Mark Chambers mentioned he does not intend to resign from his position as Mayor of Carbon Hill, Alabama, the Daily Mountain Eagle reports.


In a since-deleted Facebook post made on June 4, Chambers directed a hateful remark at pro-choice supporters and LBGTQ+ people, WBRC reported. He later responded to a follower’s support for his beliefs, and proposed that he thought the only way to better society was by “killing them out.”


Chambers initially denied making the comments, telling WBRC “that’s somebody else’s post.” As soon as pressed whether someone had used his Facebook account without his knowledge, Chambers mentioned he didn’t know. He later called WBRC and admitted he made the post, however it was being “taken out of context” and that he “never mentioned anything about killing out” anyone. He also mentioned that he intended to only share his remark with a friend in a private message, which doesn’t negate the fact that he still expressed the belief.


Shortly soon after he confirmed making the post, Chambers issued a public apology on his personalized Facebook page, the Daily Mountain Eagle reported; his page disappeared from Facebook later that day. In a screenshotted image of his remarks, Chambers mentioned he was “responsible for the comment that was made,” yet he denied directing the remarks at a specific order of people. “I believe my comment was taken out of context and was not targeting the LGBTQ community, I know that it was wrong to mention anybody should be kill, [sic]” he mentioned. “I am truly sorry that I have embarrassed our City, I love this City and during office I have done everything in my power to create this a higher end place for our families.”


On Tuesday, three members of the Carbon Hill city council Called for the mayor’s resignation in a letter; Chambers instructed them Daily Mountain Eagle he does not intend to resign. In another interview with WBRC, a council member who remained unnamed mentioned Chambers told them he "would do whichever it takes, even if it meant stepping down."


LGBTQ+ agencies have also called for Chambers to step down, HuffPost reports. Equality Alabama and Hometown Action created an online petition asking for the mayor to step down and the Human Rights Campaign’s Alabama order talked out against the “horrifying, unconscionable and unacceptable” remarks in a Facebook post. “LGBTQ people face disproportionate levels of violence and harassment in their day-to-day lives — a fact that is especially true in Alabama, where there really are no statewide LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination or hate crimes laws,” the post read. “We can and should expect our elected officials to resemble all of us, or at the bare minimum, to protect us. Despite his subsequent apology, this is wholly inappropriate behavior, and Mayor Chambers must be contained to account.”


Alabama Senator Doug Jones addressed the actions of Chambers in a tweet on Wednesday, June 5, writing, “This sort of hateful thinking breaks my heart because it remains persistent in our society. It is especially hurtful any time it is a public official. It doesn’t symbolize Alabama plus it only serves to hurt the LGBTQ community & the people who love them.”


Nearly 17 percent of hate crimes committed In the
U.S. In 2017 were against LGBTQ+ people, NBC News reported. Folks are concerned about the way Alabama specifically handles hate crime tracking, because the state’s hate crime law does not include acts of violence thought to be tied to sexual identity or gender orientation, the Montgomery Adviser notes; a bill is currently before Alabama senate that would switch that.


Richard Cohen, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, previously told WSFA that the state usually struggle with perfectly counting hate crimes, and recommended that it might would be due to someone’s fear of coming forward to report a crime committed against them or because law enforcement might not completely understand what constitutes a hate crime, and how it’s essential to report them.