( CNN ) -- A California Republican official on Wednesday apologized once again for sending an e-mail depicting President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee , but insisted she was not motivated by racism . `` To my fellow Americans and everyone else who saw that e-mail and was offended , I humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness for my unwise behavior , '' Marilyn Davenport told reporters gathered before the Orange County Republican Party headquarters in Fullerton , California . `` I say unwise because I did n't stop to think about the historic implications of what I was sending . '' `` Unintentionally I have offended many , '' Davenport added . `` Knowing what I now know , I would never have sent the e-mail . '' Davenport recently found herself in a storm of controversy after forwarding an e-mail she says she received from a friend . It contained a doctored photo styled like a family portrait , showing two adult chimpanzees and a baby . The younger chimpanzee had a photo of Obama 's face superimposed over the animal 's face . The caption that ran with the photo read , `` Now you know why no birth certificate . '' The chairman of the Orange County Republican Party , Scott Baugh , called for her resignation in a Twitter message posted on the group 's website . California 's Democratic Party has also demanded that Davenport step down . But during Wednesday 's news conference , Davenport said she would not resign her post , citing an overwhelming number of appeals she has received from her constituency asking her not to do so . She represents the state 's 72nd Assembly District for the Republican Central Committee . When queried by reporters about who she may have offended , Davenport responded , `` I assume that I offended the black people . And having friends that are black I never intended for that , not at all . '' Davenport said repeatedly that she is not racist , a sentiment echoed by her husband , Dick , who stood at her side as she faced reporters . `` We 've been involved in many interracial activities , '' he said , `` and we have no animosity toward any person . '' The e-mail in question , according to Davenport , was political satire . `` I do n't think i would consider it racist , '' she told reporters . `` It 's a political satire . Pretty much about bringing up the birth certificate , or lack of it . It was n't about black , white or other . I had no intention of doing anything that would be racist . I guess I 'm political and I thought of it only in a political stance . '' Davenport went on to say that the e-mail grabbed her attention because of concerns she has about where Obama was born and where he went to school . `` I am concerned , knowing the responsibility of a president , that we should know these things , should n't we ? There are some that are really adamant about it and I wonder why he does n't tell us . ... From what I hear in the media , he 's not brought forth his college records and his birth certificate . '' Davenport is referring to claims made by what is called the `` birther '' movement . These groups believe that the president was not born in the United States and his birth certificate is a forgery , making him ineligible to be president under the U.S. Constitution . Obama and his staff produced copies of his birth certificate when he was running for president in 2008 . Despite her professed concerns over his place of birth , Davenport addressed her apologies directly to Obama . `` To the president , I would say absolutely that it was inappropriate and absolutely I would not do that again . ''
Marilyn Davenport apologizes once again for forwarding e-mail . The e-mail contained a doctored photo of a chimpanzee with Obama 's face on it . Davenport insists she is not racist and that she thought the e-mail was `` political satire '' Davenport says she was focused on concerns about where the president was born .