Mozilla CEO Resigns Over Stance Against Gay Marriage

The CEO of Mozilla has resigned after only about a week on the job over his opposition to gay marriage, reports MarketWatch. Brendan Eich decided to step down "for Mozilla and our community," the company said today in a blog post. Eich's appointment as CEO began generating criticism—like this, from OKCupid—almost immediately because he donated $1,000 back in 2008 in support of California's Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state.

At first, both he and the company insisted that Eich would remain on the job. “It’s important that Mozilla be different, to have this inclusiveness that brings people together," he told VentureBeat a few days ago. "And it may not seem like it, but I think I can do that.” But Mozilla chair Mitchell Baker announced the reversal of course today. "We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act," she wrote in the blog post. "We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better." (More Brendan Eich stories.)