Group Starts #OpenZilla Campaign to Ensure 'Tolerance' Extends to Christian Employees at Mozilla
Faith Driven Consumer launched an #OpenZilla campaign in response to the recent resignation of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich whose support for California's Proposition 8 in 2008 caused uproar. The #OpenZilla campaign seeks to ensure the software company expresses inclusiveness and respect toward its religious employees who may oppose same-sex marriage.
Faith Driven Consumer, a group that seeks to connect Christian consumers with faith-compatible companies, has requested the Silicon Valley-based software company provide clarification on its diversity policy to ensure employees will not be discriminated against for their religious beliefs. Recently, Eich resigned from his newly-appointed post as CEO of Mozilla, known for its Firefox web browser, after it was revealed that he donated $1,000 to California's Proposition 8 in 2008.
The Christian-consumer group said the purpose of its #OpenZilla campaign is "to encourage a company famous for open source solutions and inclusiveness to extend openness, tolerance, and respect to those who hold a biblically-based view of marriage."
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"While the firestorm surrounding Mozilla's recent actions has focused largely on the company's former CEO, we remain deeply concerned about faith-driven employees at the company as well as those who may apply to work there," Chris Stone, a certified brand strategist and founder of Faith Driven Consumer, said in a statement.
"In the short-term, we are concerned about the rights of employees to continue to hold to their personal biblical views on marriage without being discriminated against or bullied. In the long-term, we are troubled by LGBT advocates who are calling for a 'glass ceiling' for faith-driven employees, suggesting that companies may hire such people but should not allow these employees to assume leadership roles if they hold a biblical view of marriage."
"Last week's troubling events raise serious questions about the commitment by many members of the LGBT community to practice what they preach. As LGBT activists ask us to tolerate and respect their viewpoints on one hand, many are advocating – on the other hand – for intolerance, discrimination, and bullying toward people of faith, people who an essential part of America's rich rainbow of diversity," Stone added.
Faith Driven Consumer has asked Mozilla to answer three specific questions:
Will faith-driven employees be discriminated against and forced into the closet for their personal views on marriage?
Is there a "pro gay marriage" litmus test for working at Mozilla?
Will the next CEO be required to openly express support for gay marriage as a condition for being hired?
Faith Driven Consumer is the group behind the "I Stand With Phil" campaign, started in December 2013 after reality television star Phil Robertson was temporarily suspended by the A&E Network for comments he made regarding homosexuality to GQ Magazine. The "I Stand With Phil" campaign, along with other online petitions and boycotts, served an integral role in getting Robertson reinstated to his family's "Duck Dynasty" reality show.
Eich's resignation was announced last week by Mozilla's executive chairwoman, Mitchell Baker, who apologized for the company failing to move "fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started." Eich left his CEO position after several Mozilla employees took to Twitter and other blogging sites to request his resignation, citing his 2008 donation to the voter-approved constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman in California.
Andrew Sullivan, and openly gay blogger behind the widely-read blog The Dish, criticized Mozilla's handling of the situation, saying that Eich's resignation is an indicator of New McCarthyism where all dissenting opinions are silenced.
"If this is the gay rights movement today -- hounding our opponents with a fanaticism more like the religious right than anyone else -- then count me out," Sullivan wrote.
Those interested in joining the #OpenZilla campaign are encouraged to tweet their support with the hashtag #OpenZilla, or share the campaign with their friends via social media. Visitors to the Faith Driven Consumer's website also have the opportunity to sign up for the #OpenZilla campaign to encourage Mozilla's transparency on its acceptance of faith-driven employees.
