Mozilla’s new CEO resigns following gay-marriage controversy

Mozilla’s new Chief Executive Officer Brendan Eich has resigned, after being dogged by calls for his ouster over his support for an anti-gay marriage bill in California. Mozilla’s board chairman Mitchell Baker announced Eich’s resignation in a blog post on Thursday. “Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community,” Baker wrote. Eich later confirmed the news in his own prepared statement.

Brendan Eich has stepped down as Mozilla’s CEO amid criticism over his donation to an anti-gay California marriage ballot measure back in 2008. Eich was appointed chief executive of the company just last week, a decision that caused an immediate and intense backlash, most notably from the dating site OKCupid. Visitors to the OKCupid website earlier this week were greeted with the message “Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples…We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OKCupid.” Despite the intensifying criticism over his donation, just yesterday Eich told The Guardian that he would not be resign over his ‘private’ support for a gay marriage ban.