Editor fired for tweets about 3rd gender choice on licenses

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The editor of Vermont’s largest newspaper who was fired after a series of tweets about a state proposal to add a third gender option to driver licenses says he voiced the wrong opinion.

Gannett, the owner of the Burlington Free Press , says former editor Denis Finley violated the company’s social media guidelines.

Finley was criticized after tweeting about the possibility of adding a third gender option on driver’s licenses. On Friday, he tweeted : “Awesome! That makes us one step closer to the apocalypse.”

In a story published on the newspaper’s website Monday, the Free Press says Finley “left the company.” USA Today Network Vice-President Randy Lovely says Finley’s tweets failed to adhere to company policies.

Finley says Tuesday his comments were “intended to question why the state would sponsor a third sex on driver’s licenses.”