Last Thursday, former CEO of Mozilla Brendan Eich voluntarily resigned from the position of Mozilla's CEO shortly after being promoted. His resignation came about after Mozilla faced boycotts and protests for promoting him to CEO despite his $1000 donation in 2008 to pass Prop 8 in California, which banned marriage equality in the state until being struck down. The controversy also led Mozilla to announce its support for marriage equality.
Needless, to say, NOM is not happy. They have released this statement:
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today called on Americans to remove the web browser Mozilla Firefox from their personal computers to protest the company forcing out its CEO over his support of Proposition 8, the 2008 campaign to preserve marriage in California as the union of one man and one woman.
NOM, Eich was not "forced out" by the company. He resigned voluntarily.
NOM called the dismissal of Brendan Eich as CEO of Mozilla a "McCarthyesque witch hunt" that reflects the desire of gay rights activists to punish anyone in society who fails to support their agenda of redefining marriage.
NOM, the protests were not really led by "gay rights activists". ThinkProgress' Zack Ford
explains where the protests came from:
Since his March 25 appointment, the Internet company has faced a number of boycotts and protests. Earlier this week, OKCupid hurdled access to its site in the Firefox browser, urging users to choose another browser and not support Mozilla products. Rarebit app developer, Hampton Catlin pulled his projects from Mozilla sparking a public outcry for Eich’s resignation. Three of Mozilla’s board executives have also stepped down in the two weeks Eich has been CEO.
When accusing a party of a "McCarthyesque witch hunt", please make sure that you have the correct party.
"When Brendon Eich made his modest contribution to support Proposition 8, Barack Obama was on the ballot as a candidate who said he believed marriage was the union of one man and one woman. Now Eich has been the target of a vicious character attack by gay activists who have forced him out of the company he has helped lead for years," said Brian Brown, NOM's president.
Brian, he was not forced out. He resigned voluntarily. And the pressure on Mozilla did not come from "gay activists", but from OKCupid, Hampton Catlin and the general public.
Now, what was NOM's attitude to the reaction of the general public's support for Phil Robertson when he was suspended by A&E for his anti-gay comments last December?
I'm sure you've heard the news by now: after witnessing an unprecedented outpouring of support for Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, the A&E television network has reinstated Phil to the show, and he'll be filming new episodes this coming spring with the rest of his family.
You and tens of thousands of others lent your support to Phil through NOM's petition which ended up garnering well over 60,000 signatures in record time!
Your voice, combined with countless other voices pouring in from across the nation, was heard loud and clear by A&E executives, and it sent an unmistakable message: people of faith in America will not be bullied and made into second class citizens whose views have no place in the public square.
When the public supports the anti-gay Phil Robertson, that's "an unmistakable message". But when the public opposes the anti-marriage equality Brendon Eich, that's "a McCarthyesque witch hunt". Well, when one assesses two similar situations differently over the fact that one works in their favor but not the other, that's hypocrisy.
They continue:
"This is a McCarthyesque witch hunt that makes the term 'thought police' seem modest.
"Thought police"? Brian, he openly and publicly donated money to Prop 8. You don't need "thought police" to know that.
We urge all consumers to remove Mozilla's Firefox web browser from their computers as a sign of protest."
Sounds like a boycott. Well, you have the right to boycott. And you would not have a problem with us boycotting Chick-fil-A, right? Oh, that's right.
You said this (emphasis added):
ACTION NEEDED: Chick-fil-A Under Attack!
Let’s be clear about something: the homosexual lobby and their puppet politicians’ assault on Chick-fil-A is just the beginning.
You see, wealthy homosexual activists, such as the so-called Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, are not merely threatening, bullying, and attempting to destroy a great American business—they are declaring war on anyone who disagrees with their radical agenda.
And why? To bully and intimidate the media and enough politicians and activist judges to force homosexual marriage as the law of the land—thereby destroying the time-tested, God ordained, traditional institution of marriage.
This is unacceptable. It’s time to send a crystal-clear message to the gay activist bullies who want to silence Christians and people of faith who stand up for marriage in America.
While others have backed down to gay “marriage” thugs and bullies, NOM isn’t afraid of a fight. But we can’t sustain this battle unless our supporters step up their urgently needed contributions right now.
Remember: the only way to stop a bully is to fight back and fight harder. And if you make an immediate contribution, NOM will continue to expose and defeat the gay activist bullies who want to silence Christians and impose homosexual “marriage” on all of us.
PS — The homosexual lobby’s assault on Chick-fil-A is a full-frontal assault on all of us who believe in the historic definition of marriage as one man and one woman. And the only way to stop a bully is to fight back and fight harder.
I can't remember when I heard a more vitriolic description of anyone.
They continue:
Brown noted that when gay activists targeted the CEO of the Chick-fil-A company for expressing his support of marriage, the mayors of cities such as Chicago, Boston and Washington, DC declared that the company would not be permitted to do business in their cities.
And that was very silly of them. But they got criticized by
the ACLU,
Michael Bloomberg, and
Kevin Drum of Mother Jones. Liberals do know when someone's gone too far when it comes to restricting speech. But Brendon Eich is not an example of that.
He also noted that the A&E television network suspended Phil Robertson from the Duck Dynasty show when Robertson, a prominent Christian, expressed his support for marriage.
First of all, his comments were anti-LGBT in general, not just anti-marriage equality, and also racist.
Secondly, the decision to suspend him was a decision made by a private company which is entitled to restrict the speech of their employees. Companies need to not have their employees embarrass them by saying something stupid or unpopular. MSNBC suspended Ed Schultz for exactly the same offense, only his comments were sexist, not homophobic. But for some reason, as soon as someone makes homophobic comments, then we all have to defend it as "free speech" and "religious freedom". Because it's cloaked in religion, homophobia gets a pass that other prejudices don't get. Let me say in no uncertain terms that prejudice is wrong, regardless of whether or not it's religious.
"This attack to deny Mr. Eich his livelihood for supporting true marriage is a continuation of the shameful pattern we have consistently seen from gay activists.
So Brian, you're concerned about him losing his livelihood? Well, if you are concerned about people losing their livelihoods, I'm guessing you'd be concerned about World Vision announcing it will not employ people in same-sex marriages, right?
Oh, that's right. You said this:
This week, World Vision, under pressure from radical gay activists, indicated that it would be changing its policies to allow the hiring of individuals engaged in homosexual 'marriages,' despite the organization's core commitment to engaging staff that bear witness to Christian values — including the value of the sanctity of marriage between a husband and wife.
Very quickly, though, the organization's leadership changed course and decided instead to stand up to the same-sex 'marriage' bullies and to stand by its guiding principles and the values of its many supporters: on Wednesday the board voted unanimously to continue to "stand on the traditional belief on the authority of Scripture."
[...]
World Vision needs and deserves our thanks!
[...]
The National Organization for Marriage is joining together with The Manhattan Declaration and Christian Union, along with many other pro-family organizations, to support World Vision for its courage in the face of what must be intense pressure from the same-sex 'marriage' lobby. We know too well how intolerant and vicious the activists out to redefine marriage and family can be.
This is why it is so important, when an organization like World Vision stands up bravely against such pressures, to express our admiration and thanks. Won't you join me today in encouraging World Vision to remain firm in its commitment to marriage and its foundational Christian beliefs?
We also want to spread the word about this momentous demonstration of courage and commitment, using all means available.
Along with the Manhattan Declaration and Christian Union, we have launched a Facebook page called World Vision Standing for Marriage, and we are encouraging everyone to like this page and to share it with their friends.
Please visit the page today, and post a word of encouragement and support.
Standing up for marriage can be difficult in today's world, as you and I very well know. That is why it is so important to stand together with those who have the courage of their convictions to speak up boldly for marriage as God designed it.
Let us all pray for one another and for World Vision as we stand together to witness before our culture to the immense good of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
You were absolutely thrilled. When World Vision announced it would not be hiring people if they disapproved of an aspect of their personal, private life, that was a "momentous demonstration of courage and commitment". But when Brendon Eich voluntarily resigned after being criticized for public political actions, that was "a McCarthyesque witch hunt".
Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling, but they have a history of it, so I'm not surprised in the slightest.
They continue:
It basically says to all those in America and around the world who believe in a view of marriage that is consistent with the teachings of their faith that they are all bigots and haters and there is no place for them in civil society.
1. If you want to deny people rights based on your own personal religious beliefs, that is bigotry.
2. Brian, this is why you are called haters.
They finish with:
This is the totalitarian worldview we will all be under if marriage ultimately is redefined in the law."
Brian, Brendon Eich was not punished by a government, or legislation relating to marriage equality, or any legislation at all. The pressure on him came from the people. He was in a private company. And ultimately, the choice to resign was his. Marriage equality did not cause him to resign. He resigned over his own political actions. Actions have consequences. You will be judged by your actions. You will be judged by contributing to a campaign that strips same-sex couples of their right to marry. And if you are unwilling you face the consequences of your actions, then don't take them in the first place.