BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The president of the Birmingham NAACP said he was fired from his job as a City Council aide as punishment for being openly gay, a charge officials denied.

Hezekiah Jackson said many of the council members resent his sexual orientation.

“A person like me is frightening to them, so many people have fought to destroy me,” Jackson said after he and another council aide, Willie Lucas, were dismissed.

Valerie Abbott, one of the members who voted to fire both men, denied that Jackson’s sexual orientation was an issue.

“The reason the two people were terminated has nothing to do with their personal choices and sexual preference,” she said. “It has everything to do with their behavior on the job.”

Jackson and Lucas have feuded for months, and they had a heated argument at City Hall two weeks prior to their dismissal. Council President Lee Loder said the men were fired “out of an abundance of caution” for safety.

“The council felt compelled to take this terminating action,” Loder said in a statement.

Besides heading the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Jackson is the president of a neighborhood association and a citizen advisory board.

Jackson said he will remain active in city politics even if some people don’t like his sexual orientation.

“For me to be openly gay and black in Birmingham is an issue for many people,” he said. “I have not lived the life of a typical gay black man, and many people want to punish me for that.”

Both Jackson and Lucas previously worked for a city councilwoman, but Jackson was removed and began working for the full council in mid-October after he complained of sexual harassment by Lucas.

An independent investigation found no evidence of harassment but recommended Lucas’ termination based on other inappropriate behavior.

Lucas did not comment publicly on his dismissal.