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 (CNN) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee resigned Thursday from the Country Music Association Foundation board of directors -- less than one day after his appointment -- after backlash over his anti-gay rights record. 
 
 "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," Huckabee wrote in his letter of resignation 
 
 Huckabee didn't mention the controversy over his stance on gay rights in his letter. But he wrote, "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." 
 
 A message left by CNN with the foundation seeking comment Friday morning was not immediately returned. 
 
 Huckabee, a two-time Republican presidential candidate, compared legalizing same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy in 2010. He also compared same-sex adoption to experimentation, saying that "children are not puppies." 
 
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 CLOSE Mike Huckabee and TBN president Matthew Crouch talk about the new show in Nashville 
 
 Mike Huckabee is photographed at the TBN campus in Hendersonville on Oct. 2, 2017. (Photo: Alan Poizner / For The Tennessean) 
 
 NASHVILLE — Less than one day after his appointment was announced, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has resigned from the CMA Foundation board of directors, following criticism from multiple members of the country music industry. 
 
 "The CMA Foundation has accepted former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s resignation from its board of directors, effective immediately," said Amber Williams, CMA vice president of communications and talent relations. 
 
 The announcement follows criticism from members of the country music industry, as well as country music fans. 
 
 Jason Owen, co-president of Monument Records and owner at Sandbox Entertainment, called the appointment a "grossly offensive decision" in an email to the association's CEO Sarah Trahern and CMA Foundation executive Tiffany Kerns. 
 
 Owen wrote that due to Huckabee’s election to the CMA Foundation’s board, neither his companies, nor anyone they represent would continue to support the foundation. 
 
 Owen and his husband Sam are fathers to a young son and are expecting twins. Owen said that Huckabee’s stance on the LGBTQ community “made it clear my family is not welcome in his America.” 
 
 “The CMA has opened their arms to him, making him feel welcome and relevant,” Owen wrote. “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. Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice.” 
 
 The CMA Foundation is the charitable arm of the Country Music Association, devoted to growing and supporting music education programs across the country. Its board consists of 12 members. 
 
 Sugarland’s Kristian Bush visited Dodson Elementary School in Hermitage last week with the CMA Foundation. His manager Whitney Pastorek, who is a CMA member, penned an email to CMA executives questioning how many children in the school’s diverse population Huckabee would choose to welcome. 
 
 “What a terrible disappointment to see (the CMA Foundation’s) mission clouded by the decision to align with someone who so frequently engages in the language of racism, sexism, and bigotry,” Pastorek wrote. “While Gov. Huckabee's tenure in Arkansas may have resulted in valuable education reform over a decade ago, I find his choice to spend the past ten years profiting off messages of exclusion and hatred (not to mention the gun lobby) to be disqualifying.” 
 
 Huckabee’s inclusion on the board has sparked hundreds of comments from outraged fans on social media, many of which are threatening to boycott the CMA, CMA Music Festival and in some cases country music as a whole. 
 
 Longtime country music executive and CMA board member Joe Galante explained in a statement that Huckabee was elected to the position because the CMA Foundation could benefit from the knowledge gained during Huckabee’s extensive political career. 
 
 “Gov. Huckabee led an impressive administration while serving the state of Arkansas and his policy experience with education reform is something we are fortunate to be able to learn from,” Galante said. 
 
 Huckabee raised his profile in the Nashville area in recent months. He tapes his talk show "Huckabee" just outside of town. "Huckabee" airs on TBN and includes news commentary along with religious, political and musical guests. 
 
 The two-time Republican presidential candidate has held strong, polarizing views on education, including publicly calling for the end of the Department of Education as well as Common Core. 
 
 "Education is a family function, not a federal one," he tweeted in 2015. 
 
 To date, the CMA Foundation, a nonprofit, has invested over $20 million in 84 programs across the national public school system, after-school programs, summer camps and through community outreach organizations. 
 
 The news comes four months after the association came under fire for its media guidelines at the annual CMA Awards. The CMA had previously asked media outlets to avoid questions about the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, gun rights or political affiliations at the awards show, or risk losing their credentials and being escorted by security off the premises. 
 
 After a backlash that included criticism from awards show co-host Brad Paisley, the CMA issued an apology and removed the restrictions ahead of the show. 
 
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– Mike Huckabee hadn't even marked 24 hours in his new position as a board member of the CMA Foundation when he abruptly stepped down Thursday, a result of backlash to his appointment by country music fans and industry members who criticized some of the former presidential candidate's stances (most notably on the LGBT community) and his ties to the NRA. "The CMA Foundation has accepted former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s resignation from its board of directors, effective immediately," said a CMA rep, per the Tennessean. In the past, Huckabee has tied legalizing gay marriage to incest and polygamy, as well as railed against adoption by same-sex couples, CNN notes. This backstory spurred critics to push back on Huckabee's involvement with the foundation as it grows music education programs across the country. "A grossly offensive decision" was one reaction, from Jason Owen, the openly gay co-president of Monument Records. "What a terrible disappointment," said Whitney Pastorek, the manager of Sugarland's Kristian Bush. Huckabee posted his resignation note on Twitter, tweeting, "Gee, Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci lasted longer than me!" He was more serious in his post, titled "Hate Wins." "I genuinely regret that some in the industry were so outraged by my appointment that they bullied the CMA and the Foundation," he wrote. He noted his music and education background and says he hopes "the entertainment industry will become more tolerant and inclusive and recognize that a true love for kids having access to the arts is more important than a dislike for someone or a group of people because of who they are or what they believe."