Equality California has invited Carrie Prejean, Miss California, to meet with gay couples and students, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
EQCA executive director Geoff Kors hopes that Prejean will get to know these people and learn first-hand the impact of her vocal opposition to marriage for gay people.
According to the San Francisco Bay Times:
Miss California probably doesn’t realize how hurtful her statements are, especially to LGBT youth,” Kors said in the statement. “But this is about something much bigger than the issue of marriage alone, and I have to believe that if she meets us, she will come to see our humanity, and at the very least, I hope she will understand that what she says as Miss California can either hurt people or bring them together.
The Bay Times reports that a former Miss California (2003), Nicole Lamarche, has released a lengthy statement about the controversy involving Prejean’s response to a question about gay marriage during the Miss USA pageant. Lamarche is married to fellow seminarian Jeremy Nickel and now serves as minister at Cotuit Federated Church in Cotuit, Massachusetts.
The truth is that it is difficult to know for sure the intentions of the biblical authors, but we do know something about God. Those of us who know God through Jesus of Nazareth know that he went to great lengths to express God’ love to people who were labeled as outcasts. He spent time with children, prostitutes, and lepers, all of whom were labeled as outside of the grasp of the Holy.
Lamarche indirectly criticized Prejean for using the Bible as a weapon against others.
Meanwhile, over at MSNBC.com, Helen Popkin asks, “Who died and made Perez Hilton official spokesperson of everything?”
When I look at someone like that who’s been gifted with great beauty I can’t help but think how incredibly selfish and ungrateful she is to wish to deny others the same rights she has. How can someone who has been given so much think that its not enough, that she is somehow justified in denying others a fraction of what she has.
@Priya Lynn
It’s not only sexual orientation, but also races and classes who are being denied. Maybe one day we’ll move past the hate, fear and spite that drive so many.
Come on David, Perez represents “everything that’s wrong with gay culture”? Tone down the hyperbole a bit. And no rational person believes he considers his sexuality a justification for hurting people.
David, its clear you don’t like Perez Hilton and that demonizing him is a higher priority for you than an accurate portrayal of relity. I’m not offended, I’m just sick of the hyperbole.
That should be “accurate portrayal of reality”
I see nothing constructive about Perez Hilton’s treatment of Miss Prejean.
Prejean’s answer was ignorant and deserved an informative response — not an abusive tirade. I believe she is a conservative hero now because she was verbally abused — not because of her boring perspective on marriage.
David said “With all due respect, I don’t think it’ hyperbole to say that I want something better for all of us.”.
No, I don’t think that’s hyperbole either. What’s hyperbole is saying Perez represents “everything that’ wrong with gay culture”. That’s over the top, one could say there are many things wrong with gay culture but to suggest Perez represents everything that’s wrong with it isn’t believable. What’s hyperbole is saying he considers his sexuality a justification for hurting people – I don’t buy that at all, again its not realistic. Slightly less hyperbolic is saying “He doesn’t seem to care if those he hurts are gay, straight, or homophobic or not.”. You added “doesn’t seem” so that makes it a little more believable than if you had simply claimed “he doesn’t care if those he hurts are gay, straight, or homophobic or not”, which again wouldn’t be believable.
I’m not defending Perez Hilton, I’m not taking a stand one way or another, other than this incident I really don’t know anything about him. I’m just saying you can express your disaproval of him without putting it in absurd terms.
Perez Hilton….he deserves credit for coming up with a moniker that is both ethnic and vacuous.
Another thing about Perez Hilton….he’s living proof that one can become famous on very little talent.
Let’s face it, the question put to Miss California was designed to put her on the spot….if she supported gay marriage, she’d be in trouble…if she didn’t support it, she’d also be in trouble…either way, she’d wind up as media fodder.
While I am certainly in favor myself and other LGBT people being able to legally wed, I don’t think attacking beauty queens in public will do our cause any good. Perez rant was the stuff of junior high school…puerile, mean spirited and tiresome.
Freedom of speech, especially to a group which allegedly prides itself on “diversity”, is a right worth fighting for. Freedom of speech means not only that you have a right to speak your mind, but your opponents have a right to respond. While Miss California has a right to her opinions, she really shouldn’t be surprised that there are many who disagree. What she deserved was an intelligent retort; Hilton’s attack not only degraded the issue to the level of personal attack, he assured her place as a far right icon…and her supporters will rightfully point out that Perez Hilton’s responses to her was buffoonish and cruel.
Perez had the opportunity to introduce intelligent arguments in favor of gay marriage…he instead chose a tirade that gives the opposition ample fodder to further oppose gay marriage.
Gay marriage is a civil rights issue and it deserves respect and intelligent discussion…not the rantings of media w****s
Much better David, I didn’t see any hyperbole in that last post.
She was a question, she answered it truthfully. She has a right to her opinion, or is that not what we want,, true equality. Maybe i’m making a mistake wanting to say i’m gay if someone can’t answer a question truthfully.. BTW, just who is this jackass perez hilton?? Apparently he’s against working for a living.
Miss California did not answer the question truthfully. She answered it with sincere prejudice and self-satisfied self-righteousness.
Perez Hilton’s profanities do not excuse Miss California’s untruths and intentional ignorance, both of which lead to failed marriages.