The former governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, resigned from the Country Music Association Foundation board of directors this week.

Huckabee faced a backlash over a number of stances against LGBT rights he has aired throughout his time as Governor of Arkansas and beyond.

He wrote: “I genuinely regret that some in the industry were so outraged by my appointment that they bullied the CMA and the Foundation with economic threats and vowed to withhold support for the programs for students if I remained.”

The two-time Republican presidential candidate Huckabee, has in the past hit out at same-sex marriage, comparing it to incest and polygamy, suggesting that adoption by same-sex couples is experimentation, has attacked trans people, joked about rape and murder, used gay as an insult, and various other anti-LGBT stances.

He oddly did not mention the controversy around his LGBT-rights stance in his letter.

But he did write: “If the industry doesn’t want people of faith or who hold conservative and traditional political views to buy tickets and music, they should be forthcoming and say it.”

The Country Music Association Foundation was warned by business owners that they would drop support if Huckabee remained as a board member.

He told Monument CEO Sarah Trahern and CMA Foundation executive Tiffany Kerns that his companies and their clients would drop support of the foundation in light of Huckabee’s appointment

“Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country,” wrote Owen wrote in an email published by MusicRow.

“Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice.”

A verdict was given clearing police of misconduct charges after it was found that the jury could be biased against the plaintiff who is gay.

Raymond Berthiaume had accused police lieutenant David Smith of the Key West Police Department of framing him for battery.

He alleged that the department had forced his friend to make a false statement back in 2013.

The jury cleared Smith of wrongdoing in the case, but the decision was tossed out.

According to the Miami Herald, the district court in the case had “refused” to ask jurors questions about sexual orientation bias.

A second trial will now take place.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals released a decision stating: “The district court here asked the jurors multiple questions about any biases or prejudices they might have against law enforcement.

“But the district court refused to ask any questions at all about prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation. Therefore, we have no way to discern whether the jury was biased against the plaintiff for that reason.”

The incident on which the accusations were based took place in 2013.

Berthiaume, wearing flip-flops and a loincloth, left Fantasy Fest 2013 with a group of friends.

After a disagreement over whether to stay out later, a friend, Berthiaume’s then partner, had stolen the car keys to stop them from driving home.

Berthiaume had struck a street sign in frustration, and Smith had knocked him to the ground, arresting him for domestic battery.

Despite never being charged, Berthiaume filed a lawsuit against now-retired Smith, saying he had attempted to get one of his friends to lie about the incident.

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Berthiaume asked for $15,000 in compensation for surgeries he says were necessary to repair damage done when he was knocked to the ground.

The jury had issued a decision against Berthiaume in 2016, but the verdict has now been revoked.

“Berthiaume noted that homosexuals had only recently begun to gain acceptance in society, and many people still harbor bias or prejudice against homosexuals,” adds the ruling.

“Accordingly, Berthiaume contended that in a case such as his, involving both a gay party and gay witnesses, it is necessary for courts to inquire into prospective jurors’ potential biases against homosexuals to ensure a fair trial.”

A lesbian couple has filed a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina over the recently introduced HB2.

Beverly Newell, 45, and Kelly Trent, 39, say that a fertility clinic turned them down based on their sexual orientation.

They have joined a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which alleges that the highly controversial HB2 has led to discrimination.

In a statement released on Friday, Newell said: “It’s unnerving to know that we could be turned away by any business for being a same-sex couple and have no recourse because of HB2.

“HB2 has encouraged this type of conduct and we no longer have the ability to file discrimination complaints when this type of thing happens in our home city of Charlotte. The bill has made it OK to harm LGBT people. The state of North Carolina is better than this.”

The lawsuit was filed last month in a US District Court in North Carolina, and was modified on Friday to include the names of the new plaintiffs.

Among others, Governor Pat McCrory was named as a defendant – he signed the bill, and has continually defended it against swathes of criticism from across the US and beyond.

“HB2 has exposed them to discrimination based on sexual orientation,” ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Elizabeth Gill told ABC News.

“It was their experience that all of the discussion about HB2 and its effects was basically giving license to businesses in the state to discriminate. They did experience discrimination and are worried it would happen again.”