School Board member resigns after urging gays to commit suicide

Click on this link to read a CNN story (with attached video) about an Arkansas school board member who has resigned after posting strongly anti-gay comments on his Facebook page. After reading about his views (from which he is now distancing himself and apologizing), do you believe it's appropriate that he resigns?  Or should his right to express any opinion on his Facebook page be protected?  Does a public official's Facebook page fall within the realm of their public duties?  Similar questions have been raised about the leisure time activities of public servants such as policemen, school teachers, mayors, etc.  Where (at what time?) does one's job end?  Or were his comments so extreme that some action needed to be taken?