Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich resigns after furor over his support of Prop. 8

The co-founder of the Mozilla Corporation, the company behind the Firefox Internet browser, resigned on Wednesday amid both internal and external calls for his departure because of his support for California's anti-LGBT Proposition 8.

Re/code reported on Thursday that Brendan Eich has also stepped down from his post on Mozilla's non-profit foundation.

The move came 24 hours after The Guardian reported that Eich refused to acquiesce to the pressure.

"I don't want to talk about my personal beliefs because I kept them out of Mozilla all these 15 years we've been going," he was quoted as saying. "I don't believe they're relevant."

Eich had attracted criticism after it was revealed that he donated $1,000 in support of Prop. 8 in 2008. The marriage equality ban, which was passed by a majority of California state voters that same year, was struck down in June 2013 by a Supreme Court ruling. Mozilla employees began calling for his departure shortly after Eich was named the company's CEO last week.

The company was also the target of a boycott by the popular Internet dating site OKCupid, which asked users to access the site using other browsers.

"Mozilla prides itself on being held to a different standard and, this past week, we didn't live up to it," the company said in a statement released on Thursday. "We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it's because we haven't stayed true to ourselves. We didn't act like you'd expect Mozilla to act. We didn't move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We're sorry. We must do better."

[Image via Agence France-Presse]