What? A beauty pagent contestant made an ill-informed and slightly ignorant reply to a question posed to her?
Here’s my surprised face.

I completely disagree that Miss California didn’t lose because of her honesty about her opinion of gay marriage. Perez Hilton made it fairly obvious how he voted, and it seems Miss California was fairly heavily favored to win the contest before her answer to Hilton’s question.
Expecting a contestant in a BEAUTY pageant to give a policy wonk’s reply (according to Hilton, he would have been satisfied if she had said “Let the states decide”) seems idiotic to me, somewhat like expecting Mahmoud Ahmadenijad not to give an anti-Israel speech.
Miss California is mainly being penalized for being honest. Her ascendance to this ridiculous title should not depend upon whether she is willing to give a hypocritical, politically correct reply.
BTW, I’m for Same-Sex Marriage, but I’m not in favor of the Perez Hilton’s of this world, who wouldn’t dream of calling Barack Obama a dumb b*tch because he said during the campaign that he believed in the traditional meaning of marriage, but have no problem at all labeling a beauty contestant with conservative beliefs a dumb b*tch or worse. Perhaps the opponents of Same Sex Marriage aren’t dumb or bigoted; perhaps they are merely wrong.

Both her supporters and her detractors credited this answer for her loss.
I’m fine with that. We should be working to marginalize bigots at every level of society. We should be working to make the voicing of anti-LGBT hatred just as serious an act of career suicide as voicing racist or sexist hatred. I would have been much more uncomfortable if she’d won after basically saying that a group of people deserved to be considered second-class citizens (to say nothing of her complete ignorance of the inequality of marriage rights in this country).
Of course, we could discuss the inherent sexism of beauty pageants in general, and how they reward women with traditionally-beautiful bodies and faces and shallow minds over women who might not be as traditionally beautiful but are much more accomplished, but that’s a bit out of bounds here, I suppose…

I’m glad you mentioned the parallel with Miss South Carolina because that’s immediately what I thought of when I read Miss California’s comments. And not only did she sound uninformed, but she was also trying to have it both ways. How can someone say they believe “opposite marriage” is wrong and think they can say that without causing offense?

I think she answered honestly. Should she have lied. There was nothing wrong about her answer. It’s how you answer not what you answer. The judge was very very unprofessional

I think she answered honestly. Should she have lied.
No. She should have not been a bigot. The solution to being called out on one’s bigotry isn’t to protest “it’s honest!” – it’s to change your attitude.
There was nothing wrong about her answer.
Except that it was, in fact, wrong. In 46 states and under federal law you can’t choose between same-sex and opposite-sex marriage; under those states’ laws, LGBT people are second-class citizens. The factual incorrectness makes it objectively wrong, no matter how one may feel about anti-LGBT bigotry.
The judge was very very unprofessional
Would you have said the same thing if Perez Hilton was an African-American man, and Miss California had just said that she was (“no offense to anyone out there!”) raised to hate black people? Is it unprofessional to stand in opposition to someone who believes that you deserve second-class citizenship?

Her response was very odd. She seemed to be trying to equivocate and then changed her mind. The fact is, she was asked whether she thought same-sex marriage should be legal and responded with a rambling, slightly incomprehensible answer, which amounted to “my religious beliefs should be the law”.
Also, it’s a frickin’ beauty contest! She wasn’t entitled to the crown so complaining about how she was judged presumes that she would have won otherwise.

I think the position that anyone who opposes Same Sex Marriage is a bigot may allow one to feel “on the right side of history” but it is a very polarizing attitude. The reported shouting match about Same Sex Marriage after the Miss USA contest ended is a prime example. Sometimes, people who believe differently than we do have very complicated reasons for what they believe.
It may feed our sense of righteousness to call those people bigots, but it doesn’t go any further towards creating understanding between people with very different views.
I don’t believe Miss California should have lost the crown because she was honest about her conservative opinions, even if I believe those opinions to be wrong. Comparing her answer, which was far from perfect, with that of Miss South Carolina from some time back is simply unfair.
Of course, the person who gains most from this controversy is Donald Trump, for whom no kind of publicity is bad publicity.

So they still have a Miss USA pageant?

Finally, a report that got to the heart of the matter. Her answer was rambling and confused and that was reason enough to demote her. Notice she said: “I think I believe.” Isn’t she sure? What sort of equivocation is that? Then there are the points you rightly noted as well. We also had her claim this is the belief she was taught in her family but she later claims her sister disagrees with it and that she doesn’t speak for her mother either. So apparently her family is divided and she muddled that up as well. If asked a hard question she needs to know how to answer it and clearly she was so befuddled by this question that she became incoherent.

I think it was wonderful that Miss California chose to answer the way that she did. Here in this wonderful country, we have the right to freedom of speech and everyone is entitled to give their honest opinion. That is exactly what she did, and shame on Perez Hilton for dissing her after she gave an honest and heartfelt answer. If you don’t want to hear someone’s true response to a question, then you shouldn’t ask the question to begin with, rather than blaming them for giving an honest and heartfelt answer. I am very proud of Carrie Prejean for standing up for what she believes in and choosing to please God rather than the world. She deserves to be honored and looked up to by everyone. I truly hope with all my heart that if I was ever in a similar situation that I would also be as courageous as she was to stand up for what I believe in. Way to go Carrie – you are a true winner in this competition for the ultimate crown – the crown of eternal life in Heaven – a crown that will never fade away.
Thanks everyone for reading and God bless you all! -Aric Ross (prayerforyourneeds@yahoo.com)

Homosexuals do have free choice when it comes to marriage. They are able to marry anyone of the opposite gender, just like heterosexuals. They have equal rights.

And forget about Perez Hilton’s sexist rant? A rant he refuses to apologize for. The reaction to Ms. California is typical Liberal hypocrisy on their politically correct view of “tolerance”. Who expressed the real hateful attitude here? Perez Hilton. The Left has sent the Orwellian thought police after this poor girl. How open minded of you Liberals.

Blue Collar Todd: “The Left has sent the Orwellian thought police after this poor girl.”
Uh…what? I must have been out of town when we elected Perez Hilton spokesperson for the entire liberal movement. Seriously, we need to send out emails about this sort of thing. Nobody tells me anything.

Perez Hilton!? Give me a break! I want to know if this is his real name or did he change it in the interest of sounding similar to a celebrity to garner attention to himself. If he did this then he has prostituted himself and has no ground to stand on in this debate. I do admit that her wording was confusing. However, I believe she had the right to answer the way she did. Political correctness, first of all, is something that changes from day to day, predominantly with what is generally considered the liberal belief set. 10 years ago being pro gay marriage was not a popular political opinion. Was the issue really any different back then? No! It was about individual liberty, as it is now. Should we base our opinions on whatever the “popular” opinion of the day is? Or should we base our opinions on something a little more firm?

James, I assume you’ve discovered an instrument that can see directly into Ms. Prejean’s heart and ascertain that she is a bigot.
Perez Hilton had every right to ask the question he asked, but his reaction to Miss California’s honest reply was incredibly immature.
He called her a dumb b*tch, according to his own words — on the news reports I saw. Barack Obama said essentially the same thing about marriage being between a man and a woman during the campaign. I don’t hear Perez Hilton calling the President a “dumb b*tch” – do you?
I don’t agree with Miss California’s position on same-sex marriage, but I find Diana Butler Bass’s post to be not credible. I don’t think she is being honest here.

I love “gotcha!” moments! This link: http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/12/15/hilton/ explains the whole history of Perez Hilton. As you will read, he is not a real class guy. Mario Lavandeira is his real name. At the end of the article it is incorrectly stated that he had to rename his site PerezHilton.com. The fact is he was forced to rename his site. He chose to name it PerezHilton.com.

Dean, thanks for the link to the Salon article. Comparing Hilton to an Inquisitor seems fairly apt because of his habit of “outing” gay celebrities and also to Stepin Fetchit (considering his current role in the infotainment establishment). Everyone here should read the Salon article before defending Hilton further.

James, I assume you’ve discovered an instrument that can see directly into Ms. Prejean’s heart and ascertain that she is a bigot.
No, all I have are her words. Again, if she’d said “No offense to anyone out there but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think marriage should be between two people of the same race,” we would have absolutely no qualms about calling her bigoted. I have no idea what she thinks in her heart, but given that she’s continued to stand by her words (and in the process has become a cause celebre among the “Christian” Right), what we do have makes it pretty easy to figure out that she’s a bigot.
Perez Hilton had every right to ask the question he asked, but his reaction to Miss California’s honest reply was incredibly immature. He called her a dumb b*tch, according to his own words — on the news reports I saw.
I don’t disagree that it was a bad reply, and used sexist language. He shouldn’t say such things. But we also have to keep in mind that she told him to his face, on national television that she thinks he should be considered a second-class citizen. We wouldn’t expect an African-American to not react angrily if Ms. Prejean told him or her that she thought anti-miscegenation laws were good, or a woman to not react angrily if Ms. Prejean told her that she didn’t think women should have the right to vote. Why are LGBT people expected to sit and take it when insulted to their faces?
Barack Obama said essentially the same thing about marriage being between a man and a woman during the campaign. I don’t hear Perez Hilton calling the President a “dumb b*tch” – do you?
No… and again, I don’t think he should have called her that either. This happens to be the one major issue I completely disagree with Barack Obama on, and where I think he needs to change his views. However, Barack Obama also stands very clearly for civil unions granting the full rights and privileges of marriage, stands for repealing DADT and DOMA, stands for expanding hate-crimes legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Ms. Prejean may also believe those things, but she certainly didn’t articulate them, instead choosing to make a bigoted statement.

Thanks for your response, James. I appreciate your words and civility.
My take on the reason Perez Hilton wouldn’t use the same epitaph for Barack Obama is that he doesn’t take the words of a Presidential Candidate during a campaign seriously. He doesn’t believe Obama really meant what he said when he said “Marriage is between a man and a woman” while he does believe Ms. Prejean meant what she said.
Isn’t it possible that Ms. Prejean might simply be wrong, rather than bigoted? I think calling everyone who has conservative opinions on gay marriage a bigot is counterproductive. To me it is the same old back and forth role-playing.

Y’know, Ms Prejean’s right to freedom of speech does not include freedom from criticism.

I agree, Ebon. But name-calling isn’t criticism.
The main problem I saw with Prejean’s reply to the question was that we don’t live in a country where we can choose gay marriage if we want to, because gay marriage is not legal in every state. So her reply didn’t make sense on that level.
But, Perez Hilton, in an interview today, said Miss California shouldn’t have injected politics and religion into the contest. Hello? Then don’t ask questions that are related to current political issues that are being debated hotly in the public square.
Deny her the crown because she gave a response that didn’t make sense – don’t deny her the crown because she has conservative views.

She had the right to her opinion since she was asked.That should not have effected the outcome of the pageant.He decided on his opinion.According to the BIBLE it is wrong for two people of the same sex to lay together.Therefore it is is wrong to be homosexual

I realize in my last comment I’ve made essentially the same argument as Diana Butler Bass about Miss California’s reply being incomprehensible. Apologies for reading her original column so hurriedly that I missed that part.
Your Name, at 2:08 p.m. – I believe the Bible was written by human beings in search of God, therefore I cannot agree with your logic.

Your Name at 2:08pm,
“According to the BIBLE it is wrong for two people of the same sex to lay together.Therefore it is is wrong to be homosexual.”
Well, according to the exact same Bible, it is wrong” to eat lobster or shrimp or scallops. herefore it is wrong to eat lobster, shrimp or scallops.
Trouble with that kind of ‘thinking’ is that 1.) there are so many versions of the Bible, and 2.) there are so many interpretations of the myriad versions of the Bible, and 3.) Americans aren’t required to believe in “The Bible” (TM) (nor the Q’uran nor the Book of Tao nor the Book of Kells, nor any other religious text, for that matter).
Or shall we go back to putting the victims of incest to death because the Bible tells us to? Or denying communion to the disabled (for the same ‘reason’)? Ain’t freedom of (and from) religion a grand thing?
As if the Miss U.S.A. pageant is a Sunday School test.

Since you voiced your ‘opinion’ on this piece would it be OK if we jerked away some of your career opportunities because we disagreed with what you believe?
Any injustices that may have been suffered by gays in the future don’t have to been vented and taken out on people who had nothing to do with what happend.

Can someone explain to me why the gay community insists on marriage over civil unions. I pretty much come down on the side of Pastor Rick Warren on the issue. Marriage between a man and a woman has been an institution since the beginning of civilization. Let’s keep it that way.
A civil union would be the same in every respect but the name. What’s next, legalizing polygamy because they feel prone to not being satisfied with one partner? I was once married to my Peterbilt, but that didn’t last either. LOL!

Can you imagine what would have happened if the situation had been reversed and the contestant had been for same sex marriage and the judge had been against it. Can you just imagine then if the judge verbally bashed and attacked her even threatening her simply because she disagreed….can you imagine the outrage. Gays do not just want to legalize same sex marriage, they want people to embrace and accepted it as a normal lifestyle. And if you dont, you are called intolerant. Look at the names Hilton used to call Miss California. He was out of control and he is dangerous. If I were her I would seek to get a restraining order on him.

Can someone explain to me why the gay community insists on marriage over civil unions.
The same reason African-Americans insisted on integration instead of “separate but equal.”
I pretty much come down on the side of Pastor Rick Warren on the issue.
You think homosexuality is like bestiality and pedophilia?
Marriage between a man and a woman has been an institution since the beginning of civilization.
True. But from the beginning of civilization up until about 100 years ago, “marriage between a man and a woman” was, in fact, a man buying a woman (or more appropriately, a woman’s virginity, labor, and womb) from her father. In “traditional” marriage, women are seen as nothing more than property. Let’s not forget the sexist and patriarchal roots of marriage and acknowledge that “traditional” marriage is nothing less than the complete oppression and denial of personhood of one half of the human population.
A civil union would be the same in every respect but the name.
Okay… so why don’t you and your opposite-sex partner get one?
Here’s a better idea: Let’s get government out of the business entirely of deciding who is and isn’t married, because that brings up all sorts of nasty issues relating to the Constitutionally-mandated separation of church and state, and instead just issue civil partnerships to any pairing of consenting adults who wants one. Churches can decide for themselves who they do and don’t want to consider married. That way, all the anti-gay “Christian” bigots can keep holding their antiquated and regressive views, and those of us who don’t see others’ sexuality as a threat to our own identity can go along our merry way doing the right thing and acknowledging all loving relationships between consenting adults.

Can you imagine what would have happened if the situation had been reversed and the contestant had been for same sex marriage and the judge had been against it. Can you just imagine then if the judge verbally bashed and attacked her even threatening her simply because she disagreed….can you imagine the outrage.
And rightly so. We should be marginalizing bigots, not people who think the right way. Moreover, she told a man to his face that she considered him a second-class citizen, unworthy of full human rights. Please tell me you wouldn’t react angrily if someone told you that.
Please also show me where exactly Perez Hilton “threatened” anyone.
Gays do not just want to legalize same sex marriage, they want people to embrace and accepted it as a normal lifestyle.
Oh, how dare they. What next, they’ll want to not be discriminated against? We’ll give them the scraps from our table, but they’d better not get too proud and expect to be treated like human beings.
Your attitude is despicable.
And if you dont, you are called intolerant.
If you don’t, you are intolerant. I would think that people who enact hatred for LGBT individuals – and anyone who suggests any form of discrimination against LGBT individuals, including in our churches, is in fact enacting hatred for LGBT individuals, despite the pathetic “hate the sin, love the sinner” bullcrap they keep trying to pull to cover up their hate – would be proud to be called intolerant of something they (wrongly) consider sinful.
Look at the names Hilton used to call Miss California.
Last time I checked, Miss California, if she so desires, can marry the person she loves and become Mrs. California. Perez Hilton, a gay man, cannot. Which is worse: being called a name, or being denied basic human rights?
He was out of control and he is dangerous. If I were her I would seek to get a restraining order on him.
Out of control and dangerous? Please. What he said was reprehensible, and I certainly don’t stand by the sexism of the insult, but understandable–given that she had just told him to his face that he was unworthy of basic human rights. Dangerous, for calling her a name?
No. Rather, she and her bigoted fellow-travelers are dangerous to him – and continue to be – by standing against his receiving the full and equal rights he is entitled to as a human being.

Since you voiced your ‘opinion’ on this piece would it be OK if we jerked away some of your career opportunities because we disagreed with what you believe?
If he had written that anti-miscegenation laws were right, and that people of different races shouldn’t be allowed to marry one another, do you think he would still have a blog on BeliefNet?
You probably wouldn’t hire an open racist or open sexist to be the face of your company; why should open homophobes be any different?
Any injustices that may have been suffered by gays in the future don’t have to been vented and taken out on people who had nothing to do with what happend.
She has a great deal to do with the continued oppression of our LGBT brothers and sisters. Anyone who believes as she does perpetuates that oppression. Anyone who doesn’t speak out in favor of our LGBT brothers and sisters perpetuates that oppression.
Moreover, she lives in California, whose people just voted on a statewide referendum to re-ban gay marriage after the Supreme Court of that state rightly decided that the state should no longer discriminate against LGBT individuals. Given her views, she presumably voted for Prop 8. Hence, she (probably) did something even more tangible than simply allowing her bigotry to propagate throughout society and remaining silent while her fellow citizens are oppressed; she (probably) actively participated in their oppression, as did all bigots who voted for Prop 8.

What is wrong with some of you. She gave her opinion knowing that it could smack her in the face, however despite that knowledge she still expressed her true feelings.How dare you ask her to lie just to avoid a uproar of controversy. You are acting like she said “Gay people should be terminated” whe she just expressed her definition of Marriage. We live in a great country that allows those views to be expressed along with the opposing views, so shouldn’t we all be grateful for that? And those of you that compare her to the KKK or other “violent” suppressors, you are the ones who should be ashamed of yourselves. AND by the way in case you haven’t noticed at this point in time she is right. The majority of her country agrees that the definition of Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, try to deny that all you want but it is in fact the truth. So I guess in alot of ways she just expressed the views of the majority of Americans you are surround by each and every day. I guess next time she should just stand still and look pretty, because having an opinion in this country is obviously only allowed if your views are in accordance with the liberal media. I commend anyone who is willing to stand up for what they believe, for or against Gay Marriage. What I don’t commend is people who attack the person instead of the views that were in fact expressed.

What is wrong with some of you. She gave her opinion knowing that it could smack her in the face, however despite that knowledge she still expressed her true feelings.How dare you ask her to lie just to avoid a uproar of controversy.
Nobody’s asking her to lie. I’m asking her to stop being a bigot. There’s a difference. I don’t want her to be lying when she says “I think the human rights of LGBT individuals should be acknowledged and they should have full acceptance in all sectors and levels of society,” I want her to say that and mean it. The solution is not for her to lie, it’s for her to repent of her bigoted views.
You are acting like she said “Gay people should be terminated” whe she just expressed her definition of Marriage.
Her definition of marriage leaves some citizens out. Her definition of marriage involves denying LGBT individuals equal rights under the law. She is essentially defining LGBT individuals as unworthy of the rights to which every human being is entitled. The solution is for her to reconsider her definition of marriage.
We live in a great country that allows those views to be expressed along with the opposing views, so shouldn’t we all be grateful for that?
Do you see anyone calling for her arrest? Nobody has been denying her free speech. For you to attempt to play the victim card on her behalf when the people against whom she spoke are actual victims of the sin of homophobia is rather offensive.
And those of you that compare her to the KKK or other “violent” suppressors, you are the ones who should be ashamed of yourselves.
Nobody compared her to the KKK. If you want my opinion, I don’t think she’s like the KKK; I think she’s like a George Wallace voter. She stands in support of legal discrimination against a segment of our society.
AND by the way in case you haven’t noticed at this point in time she is right. The majority of her country agrees that the definition of Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, try to deny that all you want but it is in fact the truth.
Yep, that’s how we determine human rights in this country, by majority votes. Please tell me if you think Loving v Virginia was rightly decided… after all, it went against the way the majority defined marriage, which at the time was between a man and a woman of the same ethnicity. The majority didn’t want to “redefine marriage.” Fortunately, we had Supreme Court justices with the courage to stand against the majority and for human rights. God grant that we be blessed with such justices again when this issue comes before the docket.
(Oh, and if you have the time, take a look at the trend line on that “majority of the country” thing. Your grandkids are going to look at your opposition to gay marriage like people of my generation look at our grandparents’ casual racism.)
I guess next time she should just stand still and look pretty, because having an opinion in this country is obviously only allowed if your views are in accordance with the liberal media.
No, next time she should stand up for the right thing instead of the wrong thing. Next time she should repent of her bigotry and advocate equal rights for all.
Also, please find me anyone who thinks she shouldn’t be allowed to have an opinion. I know the “Christian” Right, in their endless quest to convince themselves that they’re being persecuted for their faith, will go to great lengths to suggest that this is somehow the heavy hand of the so-called liberal media coming down on this woman, but quite frankly the evidence just isn’t there. She lost a sexist beauty pageant because she told one of the judges to his face that she thought he should be considered a second-class citizen. That isn’t oppression; that’s barely news. If you’re looking for more fodder for the “Christian” Right’s persecution complex, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Hmmm…What ever happened to free speech? What did you want the girl to do? Lie?
Good on her for standing up for her beliefs!
Perez is a complete twat and Im glad she didn’t lie through her teeth just to please him, he is nowhere are near as important as morals!

Hmmm…What ever happened to free speech?
Nothing. Has she been arrested or imprisoned for what she said? Nobody is disputing her right to free speech. But everything we do has consequences, and one of the consequences of telling someone to his face that you think he isn’t worthy of basic human rights is that he probably isn’t going to vote for you to win the beauty pageant.
What did you want the girl to do? Lie?
No, I wanted her to stand up and say that LGBT people deserve complete equality at every level and in every sector of our society and mean it. I don’t want her to lie, I want her to repent of the sin of homophobia.
Perez is a complete **** and Im glad she didn’t lie through her teeth just to please him, he is nowhere are near as important as morals!
So it’s not okay for Perez Hilton, out of anger, to use a sexist insult against her (and I agree that it wasn’t okay for him to use that word), but it is okay for you to use a sexist (and rather crude) reference to female genitalia in reference to him?
But you’re right, he is nowhere near as important as morals. The way our society treats its LGBT citizens is nothing short of immoral, and the need for our society to repent of the sin of homophobia and acknowledge the human rights of LGBT individuals is much more important than one person’s ego.

She stated that Marriage should be between a man and woman,even our countries leader President Obama shares those beleifs with her. Now civil unions are a different story and I agree that states should decide if the gay community should be allowed to have civil unions.
Many states have decided that the definition of marriage is a union between a man and woman, so how can you be so shocked by Miss California’s answer, she expressed how the majority of the USA feels ..like it or not. I’m not saying you should stop fighting for your cause but I also beleive that those people who want to protect the definition of Marriage should fight for their beliefs as well.
I have several friends that are gay and I would never tell then not to fight for what they beleive in..and they would never ask me to do so either.
This is a hot topic right now and the people are making their voices heard, but when you stand up for something you believe there will alway be opposing sides. People need to attack the issues not the people saying them. Stop trying to say that Miss California shouldn’t believe what she believes..what gives you the right to decide what’s the “right” opinion.

please remove me from this link. i want no association with such ignorance and that is not “political ignorance” as you labeled Miss California. Praise Almighty God for young people in the public eye that will be bold in their witness. I too will pray for Perez Hilton that he will come to experience the Saving Grace if Jesus Christ before it is too late or he will be just like the Rich Man crying for Lazarus just to give him a drop of water. May the Lord defeat your efforts to corrupt the minds of people that will continue to read this garbage.

I feel that Miss California is a shallow person for her belief in denying homosexuals their right to marry and the rights they would have once receiving a marriage license. Our constitution grants each citizen the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Ms. Prejean denies their pursuit of happiness. She is attempting to be their mother and tell complete strangers what to do. It’s none of her business and should stay out of their bedrooms. I also dare to question her high standards of morality she has setup; this I mention in regards to her inappropriate photos. I would not want to see young girls looking up to a homophobic Miss USA that poses in slutty photos, then plays Virgin Mary in the public eye and goes to a fierce anti-gay church. What has become of the Miss USA we all knew and loved? Where’s the Miss USA that had an open mind for every human and the desire to help them live a better, happier life?

One of the county’s leading neurologist was gay and died of aid. His story was on 60 minutes years ago. He wanted to know why people where gay and why he was. He determined in scientific study. That men and woman who were gay where ether lacking the male or female hormone in their brain.