Missed USA

Shame on classless Perez Hilton – and I'm not talking about his riding the coattails of some heiress with a sex tape and rap sheet, or "outing" people who wish to keep their private lives private. Yes, I know Miss USA is a Miss America knock-off meant to give NBC-Universal some eye candy and supply Donald Trump with an endless number of reminders that he could always get divorced and remarried again, but that doesn't make it okay to turn the broadcast into a platform for the judges' personal pet causes by warring with contestants. Whatever his real name is, this guy brought this year's edition to a new low, and that's saying something for a pageant where one of the judges is wearing a hoodie. Yes, I caught some of it. My wife watches these things as she was once a pageant participant. She could have slapped that question down into the carpet.

[The rest is below the fold if you care to read it.]

When asked by judge Perez Hilton, an openly gay gossip blogger, whether she believed in gay marriage, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, said "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite."

While a bit clumsy (she probably wasn't expecting this question, and rightly so), this statement is true. People have freedom of association. People are allowed to live as "married" with their same-sex partner, regardless of how they landlord feels or what the landlord thinks. The cops can't get involved.

"And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman."

This is the opinion presumably expressed by a majority of California voters – twice. Since when is is a big deal for a pageant participant to express the opinion of a majority of her state's voters?

Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, tells FOXNews.com that he was "saddened" by Prejean's statement.

"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," said Lewis in a statement.

Well, Mr. Lewis, I don't mean to shock you, but every single one of us is either a man or a woman. So that means every single one of us has the same "marriage rights".

Apparently, the reporter was unable to either find someone with a more coherent argument than this, or failed to quote one if it was expressed:

Charmaine Koonce, the mother of Miss New Mexico USA Bianca Matamoros-Koonce, argued back.

"In the Bible it says marriage is between Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!"

While this is a simple version of an argument that may work with people who believe Adam and Eve have significance, there are arguments with much broader appeal expressed right here on this blog.

The audience at the pageant did not represent the majority of Californians – or Americans, for that matter.