Republican Mobile County Treasurer Phil Benson defiantly told a reporter from a local news station to read the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah when she came to ask him about his recent anti-LGBT rant that he posted on Facebook.

The controversy surrounding Benson started when he reacted angrily to a story about a bakery getting sued for refusing to serve an LGBT wedding.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Freaking queers have gotten too much sympathy,” Benson wrote on Facebook in response to the story.

Local news station NBC 15 sent out reporter Andrea Ramey to question him about his remarks, and he tried to insist that she read Chapter 19 of Genesis, which details the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah over their tolerance of homosexuality.

Ramey then asked him if he understood why people in the LGBT community might feel offended by his rant.

“And gay people are offensive to me,” he replied. “Do you understand that?”

“All gay people, just because they’re gay, are offensive to you?” the reporter asked.

ADVERTISEMENT

“They can be very offensive,” he replied. “All this beautiful rainbow stuff. When one of our presidents lit the White House with wonderful rainbow colors that offended me.”

Alabama Republican Chairman Terry Lathan called Benson’s attacks on gay Americans “unnecessary, divisive and reflect solely on himself.”

Watch the video interview of Benson being interviewed below.