Exclive: Mozilla CEO Eich says gay-marriage firtorm uld hurt Firefox (Q&A) - CNET

Contents:

• MOZILLA CEO RIGNS, OPPOSN TO GAY MARRIAGE DREW FIRE
• EXCLIVE: MOZILLA CEO EICH SAYS GAY-MARRIAGE FIRTORM ULD HURT FIREFOX (Q&A)
• MOZILLA BOSS BRENDAN EICH RIGNS AFTER GAY MARRIAGE STORM
• MOZILLA CEO BRENDAN EICH RIGNS AFTER PROTTS OM GAY MARRIAGE SUPPORTERS
• MOZILLA CEO RIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY OVER STANCE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE
• MOZILLA CEO RIGNATN OVER ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE NTRIBUTN RAIS EE-SPEECH ISSU
• ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE MOZILLA CEO RIGNS AFTER BACKLASH
• MOZILLA'S ANTI-GAY CEO HASTILY RIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY
• MOZILLA CEO EICH RIGNS AFTER GAY-MARRIAGE NTROVERSY
• MOZILLA NAM TERIM CEO AFTER GAY-MARRIAGE NTROVERSY
• MOZILLA CEO STEPS DOWN OVER ANTI-GAY PAST
• MOZILLA UNR FIRE FOR NEW CEO'S ANTI-GAY PAST
• MOZILLA CEO STEPS DOWN AMID ANTI-GAY FUROR

MOZILLA CEO RIGNS, OPPOSN TO GAY MARRIAGE DREW FIRE

By Sarah McBri SAN FRANCISCO (Rters) - Mozilla Chief Executive Brendan Eich has stepped down, the pany said on Thursday, after an onle datg service urged a boytt of the pany's web browser bee of a donatn Eich ma to opponents of gay marriage. In 2008, he gave money to oppose the legalizatn of gay marriage California, a hot-button issue pecially at a pany that boasts about s policy of clivens and diversy. While gay activists appld the move, many the technology muny lamented the parture of Eich, who vented the programmg language Javascript and -found Mozilla.

Eich donated $1, 000 2008 support of California's Proposn 8, which banned gay marriage the state until was stck down by the Supreme Court June.

EXCLIVE: MOZILLA CEO EICH SAYS GAY-MARRIAGE FIRTORM ULD HURT FIREFOX (Q&A)

2 Web browser namg a gay marriage opponent as chief executive. "Mozilla's new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay upl, " the msage said. PT: Mozilla announced Thursday that CEO Brendan Eich has rigned after ntroversy epted over his support for an anti-gay marriage ballot proposn California.

Eich's donatn of $1, 000 to the Proposn 8 effort to ban gay marriage California, ma 2008 and unvered through public rerds 2012, beme a rallyg pot for a large and vol group that has fought for years for those marriage rights. Now, his first terview on the subject, Eich is rpondg wh a msage that Mozilla is at s re clive -- not jt of gay-marriage supporters but also of people like him or gay-marriage opponents Indonia who also are part of the Mozilla e. In a reversal, Firefox has bee a pot of leverage a very different fight for gay-marriage rights.

Though Eich ref to discs his own beliefs explicly or say whether they've changed, he disagreed wh the assertn that beg opposed to gay-marriage rights is equivalent to beg sexist or racist, and he said polil and relig speech is still protected. Shankland: Is a polil firtorm about gay-marriage rights how you expected to start your new reer as a CEO? I tend to be even more so as CEO bee I agree there's an obligatn to reach out to people who for whatever reason are msage do you want to send to those who are askg for your rignatn or for you to rent your earlier opposn to gay marriage?

MOZILLA BOSS BRENDAN EICH RIGNS AFTER GAY MARRIAGE STORM

I saw that iends' ey, [iends] who are LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenred]. Is there some pot at which the damage that is actually done to Mozilla and Firefox means would be worth for you to make a public statement directly support of gay marriage rights, or to rign? I know there are people who disagree on many thgs, but I'm fightg shoulr to shoulr whether you're gay or straight, whether you're married or sgle, whether you're nservative or liberal, young or old, wherever you are the world.

The threat we're facg isn't to me or my reputatn, 's to haven't really explicly laid out, so I'll jt ask you: how do you feel gay-marriage rights? "Mr Eich has also stepped down om the board of the Mozilla Foundatn, the non-prof anisatn which owns the for-prof Mozilla ersMr Eich, who -found Mozilla and was also the creator of the JavaScript scriptg language, ma a $1, 000 (£600) donatn 2008 support of Californian anti-gay marriage law Proposn 8.

MOZILLA CEO BRENDAN EICH RIGNS AFTER PROTTS OM GAY MARRIAGE SUPPORTERS

"Mozilla's new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay upl.

MOZILLA CEO RIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY OVER STANCE AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

April 3, 2014 — -- Mozilla -founr CEO Brendan Eich, who me unr fire this week for donatg to a mpaign to ban gay marriage California, has, who beme the CEO of the nonprof pany behd Mozilla Firefox on March 24, had donated $1, 000 for the succsful Proposn 8 ballot measure that passed the November 2008 state year, California's ban on gay marriage was overturned when the Supreme Court left place a lower urt's lg agast the measure. OKCupid protted by refg to allow ers to n the datg webse wh the Firefox More: Datg Se Protts Anti-Gay-Marriage ContributorA statement om an OKCupid spokman said that the datg se firm is “pleased that OkCupid’s boytt has brought tremendo awarens to the cril matter of equal rights for all dividuals and partnerships; today’s cisn reaffirms Mozilla’s mment to that e. The CEO of Mozilla, the pany behd the popular Firefox web browser, has rigned followg ntroversy over his stance agast gay marriage.

MOZILLA CEO RIGNATN OVER ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE NTRIBUTN RAIS EE-SPEECH ISSU

Eich is steppg down as CEO and leavg the pany followg protts over his support of a gay marriage ban California.

– The rignatn of Mozilla's CEO amid outrage that he supported an anti-gay marriage mpaign is promptg ncerns about how Silin Valley's strongly liberal culture might quash the very openns that is at the regn's foundatn. He left the nonprof maker of the Firefox browser after fur attacks, largely on Twter, over his $1, 000 ntributn to support of a now-overturned 2008 gay-marriage ban California.

"While a handful of workers at top tech firms cludg Apple, Yahoo and Google supported the gay-marriage ban, the vast majory gave money to oppose .

ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE MOZILLA CEO RIGNS AFTER BACKLASH

Harmeet Dhillon, vice chairman of the California Republin Party, said Silin Valley n be tolerant, and noted 52 percent of California voters supported the anti-gay marriage measure. Print Dan Cathy's opposn to gay marriage has created ntroversy for the Atlanta-based pany bt known for s ied chicken sandwich and closg on Sundays. But he has mataed his many gay-rights activists and mentators weled Eich's parture, there were Sullivan, a proment gay blogger, railed agast the prsure that led to the rignatn.

MOZILLA'S ANTI-GAY CEO HASTILY RIGNS AMID CONTROVERSY

"Fred Saz of the Human Rights Campaign, a natnal gay-rights group, took issue wh Sullivan.

Epispal Bishop Gene Robson, who was the first openly gay bishop elected the Anglin Communn, said a phone terview that a rporate board has a right to take stock of how executiv' views shape a pani' Robson noted that Eich said his personal beliefs would not affect his performance as, Robson said he disagreed wh the ia that Eich served as an example of bullyg by liberals, as some nservativ claim. "It seems to me when a society mak a termatn that somethg is wrong, for example racial hatred, then somehow 's not tolerant to sist upon that unrstandg, " Robson Lee, founr of the Gay Christian Network, which tried to build bridg wh evangelil opponents of same-sex relatnships, scribed himself as "a passnate supporter of marriage equaly.

Brendan Eich, the newly named CEO of the software firm Mozilla Corporatn, rigned om the post after angerg gay rights activists and some the tech dtry for his opposn to same-sex marriage. Eich's views on gay marriage me to light the days followg his appotment last week to n Mozilla, bt-known for s Firefox browser. News re-emerged of a $1, 000 donatn he ma 2008 supportg California's Proposn 8, an anti-gay marriage then two former Mozilla velopers and the datg se OKCupid, among others, have publicly nmned the software velopment firm for appotg a known supporter of the anti-gay law -- voters passed Prop 8, but was later shot down by the Supreme Court.

MOZILLA CEO EICH RIGNS AFTER GAY-MARRIAGE NTROVERSY

The ntroversy began when news spread that Eich had ntributed money 2008 to the California iative attemptg to ban same-sex 's views on gay marriage motivated two Mozilla velopers to boytt the pany until somethg was done. "The moral of Eich's story is not about the "gay mafia" supprsg eedom of speech or opn, as polil mentator and same-sex marriage supporter Bill Maher surprisgly said. RelatedBill MaherMozillaGay MarriageGay RightsLGBT issuPopular the CommunyYou May Like.

Brendan Eich steps down followg lls for his oter over his support for California's anti-gay marriage Proposn 8. Stephen Shankland/CNETMozilla's new Chief Executive Officer Brendan Eich has rigned, after beg dogged by lls for his oter over his support for an anti-gay marriage bill California. The anti-gay marriage bill rcd the right for gay upl to marry until was overturned last than one Mozilla employee publicly lled for his rignatn on Twter, and proment app veloper Rareb tailed two blog posts why they were whdrawg support om Firefox OS.

MOZILLA NAM TERIM CEO AFTER GAY-MARRIAGE NTROVERSY

Beard succeeds Brendan Eich, who was the job only 10 days before anger over his donatn to an anti-gay-marriage mpaign forced him out.

Firefox ers and velopers, members of the gay muny and vol Mozilla employe took to blogs and Twter (TWTR) last month to prott Eich's appotment.

That wi refal and rejectn fomented the issue, and Eich's cisn to mata his public stance on gay marriage -- as is his right -- created an impasse. Marriage Equaly and Gay Rights general are signifint civil rights issu, and is pletely legimate to be upset at laws (and the people who ntributed to their passage) that assert that homosexual upl are not equal to heterosexual upl, and therefore not entled to legal regnn and rights as a fay. A gay uple who has been together for s shouldn't get the same rights as the met--Vegas-and-immediately-got-hched straight uple?

MOZILLA CEO STEPS DOWN OVER ANTI-GAY PAST

In other words: California's hight urt had led the state's gay marriage ban discrimatory and unnstutnal, and then discrimatn was end to the state nstutn. That is six addnal years that California gay upl' relatnships weren't good enough to secure legal regnn and the benefs that go wh . While people n feel bad about an unpleasant suatn and sympathy for Eich, I still feel that anyone who is argug that he shouldn't have had to make that choice is -- as a rult -- also argug that people who were grad by Prop 8 and the people who re about them are jt makg a fs and that gay rights don't matter that much.

Even amongst people my circl who intify as nservative, none of them -- as far as I am aware -- are social nservativ who thk that gay marriage should be illegal. What n we learn om Brendan Eich's rignatn om Mozilla amid ntroversy surroundg his support of an anti-gay marriage bill?

SAN FRANCISCO (Rters) - Mozilla Chief Executive Brendan Eich has stepped down, the pany said on Thursday, after an onle datg service urged a boytt of the pany’s web browser bee of a donatn Eich ma to opponents of gay software pany me unr fire for appotg Eich as CEO last month.

MOZILLA UNR FIRE FOR NEW CEO'S ANTI-GAY PAST

”The next step for Mozilla’s learship “is still beg discsed, ” she add, wh more rmatn to e next gay activists appld the move, many the technology muny lamented the parture of Eich, who vented the programmg language Javascript and -found Mozilla. “Brendan Eich is a good iend of 20 years, and has ma a profound ntributn to the Web and to the entire world, ” venture palist Marc Andresen donated $1, 000 2008 support of California’s Proposn 8, which banned gay marriage the state until was stck down by the Supreme Court rignatn me days after, the popular onle datg se, lled for a boytt of Mozilla Firefox to prott the world’s No. 2 Web browser namg a gay marriage opponent as chief Monday, OkCupid sent a msage to visors who accsed the webse through Firefox, suggtg they e browsers such as Microsoft Corp’s Inter Explorer or Google Inc’s Chrome.

MOZILLA CEO STEPS DOWN AMID ANTI-GAY FUROR

“Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay upl, ” the msage said. Among his qualifitns, Eich created the programmg language JavaScript, -found Mozilla, and served as the nonprof anizatn's chief technology 2008, Eich ntributed $1, 000 to the mpaign for Proposn 8, which prohibed gay upl om marryg the state of California until last year, when the U.

Intertgly, Eich and Mozilla also drew cricism om a proment anti-gay figure, Robert Gee, who -found the Natnal Organizatn for Marriage (NOM). "What we're askg for is an apology that regniz the damage and discrimatn that that law's had for gay upl like , " said Hampton Catl, CTO of Moovweb and CEO of Rareb, which he -found wh his hband, Michael Catl. “To be clear, I’m personally disappoted about Brendan’s donatn, ” said Christie Koehler, a gay employee, on her blog.

Over 65, 000 people have signed a petn on the activism se CredoActn llg for Eich to publicly reverse his anti-gay stance, rign, or be replaced.