Pensacola Rep. Mike Hill is coming under fire from Democrats and Republicans for his response to a suggestion that gay people should face the death penalty made during his talk before a group at Pensacola City Hall last week.

During the remarks, Hill laughed off a suggestion from a member of the audience that he sponsor a bill to allow gay people to be executed for their sexuality. The suggestion came moments after Hill said he believed laws aimed at protecting the rights of gay people were wrong.

Rep. Carlos Smith, D-Orlando, called on Hill to apologize for the comments or resign.

"I’m shocked & disgusted to discover a colleague who I’ve worked closely with would joke about punishing me by death for being gay," Smith wrote on Twitter. "As a survivor of anti-gay hate violence, I know the consequences of homophobia are real."

Hill and Smith campaigned together last year in support of the amendment to ban greyhound racing in Florida, something Smith pointed out on Twitter.

"Was he thinking DOGS deserve more protection than LGBTQ people like me," Smith said. "How can he espouse such bigoted views and work alongside me?"

House Speaker Jose Oliva and Rules Chairman Chris Sprowls, both Republicans, put out a joint statement condemning Hill's actions.

"We unequivocally condemn both the question asked of Representative Hill and Representative Hill's laughter and refusal to push back and remind his audience that this is America and we don't stone people to death we disagree with," Oliva and Sprowl's statement said. "Such callous indifference to an outrageous question is unacceptable, runs contrary to our founding principles, and in no way reflects the beliefs of the Florida House."

"Representative Hill would do well to remember that the only story in the New Testament involving stoning involved Jesus putting a stop to it and saying, 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone.' I believe he owes his colleagues an apology and he owes the Republican caucus a better example of political courage."

The exchanged happened during a meeting of the Women for Responsible Legislation at Pensacola City Hall on May 23.

The group bills itself as a non-partisan group and has hosted several local candidate forums featuring both Democrats and Republicans. Hill has spoken frequently to the group and has served as a moderator at some of the candidate forums the group has held.

During the meeting, Hill also said he was told by God to file a bill to ban abortion with almost no exceptions, similar to the one that recently was passed in Alabama. He also said an oath taken on anything but the Bible isn't valid, and he questioned the legitimacy of the judicial branch to rule if laws are unconstitutional.

Hill was asked a question about why Rep. Alex Andrade co-sponsored the proposed Florida Competitive Workforce Act, which would bring Florida's discrimination protection for LGBTQ people in line with federal rules. Although it didn't pass, the proposal drew bipartisan support during the legislative session.

Hill responded he didn't know why Andrade or any Republican would co-sponsor such a bill, but the legislation didn't represent the values of Northwest Florida. He added that he thought being gay was a choice.

"Someone's sexual orientation, their proclivity to want to do something, that is your business," Hill said. "It's a behavior, and it's a choice. You can say I was born that way. OK, well fine, but nobody is forcing you to engage in that relationship even if you were born that way. It doesn't meet the qualifications of being a protected status."

Moments later a member of the audience spoke up.

“In 1 Corinthians, it says that a man who has an affair with another man will be put to death," a man in the audience says to Hill.

Hill responded by saying, “It says that in the Old Testament, too.” Another person asked if he would introduce that legislation (to put gay people to death). The suggestion drew laughter from the room and from Hill.

“I wonder how that would go over," Hill said.

After the News Journal released a recording of the exchange, Equality Florida, an LGBTQ civil rights organization, and the Florida Democratic Party both released statements condemning Hill's comments.

"Words matter," said Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse shooting in Orlando and media relations manager for Equality Florida in a statement. "The comments made by Rep. Mike Hill this week are both deeply disturbing and dangerous. Rep. Hill should be embarrassed and ashamed for laughing along with the suggestion that he file legislation requiring the execution of LGBTQ people."

Juan Peñalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, called Hill's comments hateful and divisive.

"As a gay man and a Christian, my stomach turns to hear elected leaders who think it’s acceptable to make jokes about putting people like me to death in the name of Jesus," Peñalosa said in the statement. "And as a Floridian, I’m outraged that he has been elected to office. Representative Hill needs to resign and the Governor and the leaders of the Florida GOP must reject his remarks. I also hope Mr. Hill’s spiritual leader has a long conversation with him to remind him the teachings of our Lord – and if he doesn’t have one, I’m happy to introduce him to my Pastor.”

Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who is also chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, tweeted that Hill should immediately apologize.

"I am horrified by what I just heard, hate of any kind cannot be tolerated," Gruters said on Twitter. "Mike Hill should immediately apologize."

Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, also took to Twitter and called the exchange "indefensible."

"Nothing about this “exchange of jokes” is conservative let alone Christian," Grant wrote. "As a Christian who unapologetically believes in religious liberties, this exchange is nothing short of theocratically fascist, unconscionable, and indefensible."

Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson, who said he had no idea the meeting was taking place on city property when first asked about the meeting, issued a statement Friday about the meeting.

"The recent comments made by Rep. Mike Hill are absolutely unacceptable and inconsistent with the values of the City of Pensacola in every way," Robinson said. "We are a diverse community that embraces everyone, including the LGBTQ community, and to make comments even implying that any individuals in our community should be killed is appalling. This does not reflect who we are in Pensacola, and I’m embarrassed that this happened here. We welcome everyone in Pensacola, and we want all members of our community to feel safe and supported."

In an earlier statement, Robinson said the city will continue to allow any non-profit organization to continue to use public facilities whenever feasible and the views expressed by those groups "do not necessarily reflect those of the city of Pensacola."

"However, free speech is a fundamental right as Americans that we value greatly, and we do not discriminate against or prohibit anyone from using city resources based on their views or opinions," Robinson said.

Andrade, Hill's fellow Pensacola representative, said Hill's comments last week did not reflect his view of Christianity.

"I'm disappointed in Mike," Andrade said. "I hope after this he learns that jokes about killing people that are different than him is not a Northwest Florida value."

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.