Exchanging One Crown For Another

If there is a Christian out there who thinks men and women of faith are not being tolerant enough, look at what just happened to Carrie Prejean at the Miss America contest this weekend. Prejean, Miss California, was asked by Perez Hilton, one of the Miss America contest judges, about her views on same-sex “marriage.” Prejean answered, “I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.” Hilton, by the way, is well-known homosexual blogger, who reportedly called Prejean a “dumb b---h with half a brain” and said that he would have “stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara if she had won.” Luckily for her, she was first runner-up. According to various reports, there were boos from the audience after Prejean’s statement, shouting matches in the lobby and dueling press releases regarding her remarks. Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, issued a statement, which read, “As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman. …religious beliefs have no [place] in the Miss California family.” Shanna Moakler, also a co-director of Miss California, responded on Twitter by writing, “This is why we have judges at Miss USA, so we find the girl to rep us ALL.” That would seem to indicate that Prejean – a heavy favorite at the start of the pageant – lost precisely because of her religious beliefs. In fact, Perez Hilton admitted as much in an interview with Larry King. For her part, Prejean told Fox News, “This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I’m glad I stayed true to myself.” Good for her! The overwhelming majority of the American people are with her, and she has every right to express her opinion. But it should be a wake-up call to men and women of faith and everyone who cherishes freedom of speech and religious liberty. The backlash to Prejean’s commonsense comments demonstrates the naked intolerance of the militant homosexual movement. This is a movement that will not be satisfied until it has shoved all expressions of faith into the closet it has just burst out of. And if it gets its way in Congress, comments like Prejean’s may someday be considered a “hate crime.”

Published by Gary Bauer