[lenazegher]

Would you feel the same way if he'd donated $1000 to a campaign to outlaw interracial marriage?

[pdpi]

Yes. Yes I would. More to the point: If the tables were turned and it had been a pro-gay marriage CEO in a conservative company, we'd all be bitching and moaning about corporate culture suppressing the dissenting opinion. Why aren't we doing so when we don't agree with the dissenting opinion?

Mozilla's mission has nothing to do with gay rights, it's all about what the web should look like. Eich's opinion on gay marriage is immaterial to his work as CEO.

Now, it just so happen that there's a far few queer and ally Mozillians. If Eich's personal opinion were to extend into company policy about those people (or, in general, if his governance were to massively disagree with the company culture in any way), I'd question his fitness to lead. But coming from a company built on inclusiveness and tolerance, the shitstorm they're making about a member's personal opinions seems quite hypocritical, to be completely honest.

[bakhy]

"we would be bitching"? you too? :)

i'm pretty sure i have the right to protest what ever i want, regardless of how irrelevant my life problems may seem to you, and regardless of how easy it is for you to ascribe them all to matters of difference of opinion.

[moron4hire]

Freedom of expression only works if we allow for and extend it to expression we find distasteful. That's the entire point of the 1st Amendment. There is no use for it otherwise.

[zimpenfish]

Except the 1st Amendment already has limits on freedom of expression for things that people find distasteful, does it not?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_free_speech_excep...