Editorial: Miss California vs.the Gay Thug. Free Speech for Me but not for Thee?
As the verbal assault against Carrie Prejean has continued, her integrity and character have continued to shine.
'Perez Hilton' and Carrie Prejean.
PrintCHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online)- On Sunday evening, April 19, 2009 the Miss USA Pageant was broadcast as it has been for many years. However, this year was quite different. The Pageant, long in decline, actually generated a phenomenal amount of interest. However, it all came after the event had concluded. The reason, the exchange between one contestant, Carrie Prejean (Miss California) and one of the Judges, Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. (a.k.a. “Perez Hilton”). Here is the exchange:
Perez Hilton: “Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?”
Carrie Prejean: “Well I think its great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that 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 and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
Donald Trump, the co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization who some reports indicate recruited controversial gay activist and celebrity blogger Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. as a judge, told the Today Show that the honest answer given by the contestant “probably did cost her the crown.” The incident has generated an extraordinary response and the parties involved have been ever present in the Media, exhibiting very different characters and agendas.
In an interview with Fox News, Carrie Prejean said “Out of all the topics I studied up on, I dreaded that one; I prayed I would not be asked about gay marriage… If I had any other question, I know I would have won."
Miss California is a Christian. She is a student at San Diego Christian College, an evangelical Protestant school. The College is very proud of her, covering her appearance and 1st runner up victory on their website. They should be proud. She answered with the kind of integrity and honesty which speaks of what Pope Benedict XVI has called a “moral coherence”. She was unafraid of defending true marriage in the face of an obviously loaded question from a self avowed homosexual activist with an agenda beyond the beauty contest, knowing that it may cost her a victory.
She later said in an interview "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." On NBC's "Today" she was asked if on reflection she would have answered differently, she explained "I knew at that moment after I answered the question, I knew, I was not going to win because of my answer, because I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God… I wouldn't have answered it differently. The way I answered may have been offensive. With that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct. For me it was being biblically correct." In her interview with Fox she elaborated "I have no regrets about answering honestly. [Perez Hilton] asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people, and I didn't mean to offend anyone in my answer."
However, her verbal assailant and philosophical adversary, "Perez Hilton" has also been all over the news. Let's remember that he is the one who asked the question which was intended to cause the controversy. Let us also put the entire affair in perspective. This is a man who has turned his weblog into a cash cow by writing about celebrities in a way which does not, shall we say, demonstrate charity. In short, he is a controversialist and self promoter. His work has been described by Rolling Stone (certainly not a bastion of conservatism) in this way: “What he does with his blog mainly is scrawl nasty, snarky comments on pictures of young Hollywood-type celebrities.”
Finally, he has had “scrapes” with angry celebrities in the past. He has been taken to Court. However, he has used the First Amendment to defend his rights to Free Speech. In a defamation suit filed against him by a friend of Lindsey Lohan, Samantha Ronson, his lawyer successfully used the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to not only get his client dismissed from the case but to convince the Court to award his legal costs of $85,000.00.
So how did “Perez Hilton” respond to Carrie Prejeans' use of her rights to Free Speech? After verbally assaulting the contestant with this question and probably costing her the contest, he made a YouTube video where he called her a "dumb bitch" and accused her of giving "the worst answer in pageant history." In an interview on MSNBC, he refused to apologize insisting "I don't apologize… Over the course of the past 24 hours, the more I've thought about it, the more – you know what? – No, I'm going to stand by what I ...
Perez Hilton: “Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?”
Carrie Prejean: “Well I think its great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that 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 and that’s how I think it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you very much.”
Donald Trump, the co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization who some reports indicate recruited controversial gay activist and celebrity blogger Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. as a judge, told the Today Show that the honest answer given by the contestant “probably did cost her the crown.” The incident has generated an extraordinary response and the parties involved have been ever present in the Media, exhibiting very different characters and agendas.
In an interview with Fox News, Carrie Prejean said “Out of all the topics I studied up on, I dreaded that one; I prayed I would not be asked about gay marriage… If I had any other question, I know I would have won."
Miss California is a Christian. She is a student at San Diego Christian College, an evangelical Protestant school. The College is very proud of her, covering her appearance and 1st runner up victory on their website. They should be proud. She answered with the kind of integrity and honesty which speaks of what Pope Benedict XVI has called a “moral coherence”. She was unafraid of defending true marriage in the face of an obviously loaded question from a self avowed homosexual activist with an agenda beyond the beauty contest, knowing that it may cost her a victory.
She later said in an interview "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." On NBC's "Today" she was asked if on reflection she would have answered differently, she explained "I knew at that moment after I answered the question, I knew, I was not going to win because of my answer, because I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs and for my God… I wouldn't have answered it differently. The way I answered may have been offensive. With that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct. For me it was being biblically correct." In her interview with Fox she elaborated "I have no regrets about answering honestly. [Perez Hilton] asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people, and I didn't mean to offend anyone in my answer."
However, her verbal assailant and philosophical adversary, "Perez Hilton" has also been all over the news. Let's remember that he is the one who asked the question which was intended to cause the controversy. Let us also put the entire affair in perspective. This is a man who has turned his weblog into a cash cow by writing about celebrities in a way which does not, shall we say, demonstrate charity. In short, he is a controversialist and self promoter. His work has been described by Rolling Stone (certainly not a bastion of conservatism) in this way: “What he does with his blog mainly is scrawl nasty, snarky comments on pictures of young Hollywood-type celebrities.”
Finally, he has had “scrapes” with angry celebrities in the past. He has been taken to Court. However, he has used the First Amendment to defend his rights to Free Speech. In a defamation suit filed against him by a friend of Lindsey Lohan, Samantha Ronson, his lawyer successfully used the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to not only get his client dismissed from the case but to convince the Court to award his legal costs of $85,000.00.
So how did “Perez Hilton” respond to Carrie Prejeans' use of her rights to Free Speech? After verbally assaulting the contestant with this question and probably costing her the contest, he made a YouTube video where he called her a "dumb bitch" and accused her of giving "the worst answer in pageant history." In an interview on MSNBC, he refused to apologize insisting "I don't apologize… Over the course of the past 24 hours, the more I've thought about it, the more – you know what? – No, I'm going to stand by what I ...
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Use your own formed conscience of course.
Bulbajer
Re: Adoption
From the NARTH site:
Pro-Homosexual Researchers Conceal Findings:
Children Raised by Openly Homosexual Parents More Likely to Engage in Homosexuality
By Trayce Hansen, Ph.D.
www.drtraycehansen.com
Research by social scientists, although not definitive, suggests that children reared by openly homosexual parents are far more likely to engage in homosexual behavior than children raised by others. Studies thus far find between 8% and 21% of homosexually parented children ultimately identify as non-heterosexual. For comparison purposes, approximately 2% of the general population are non-heterosexual. Therefore, if these percentages continue to hold true, children of homosexuals have a 4 to 10 times greater likelihood of developing a non-heterosexual preference than other children.
Some researchers who uncovered sexual preference differences between homosexually and heterosexually parented children, nonetheless declared in their research summaries that no differences were found. Many believe they concealed their findings so as not to harm their own pro-homosexual, sociopolitical agendas.
All social scientists who conduct research in this emotionally-charged area have personal biases. That's a given. But if the authors of these studies want to be regarded as scientists, and not activists, they must set aside their biases and straightforwardly present their findings.
Regardless, no one should be surprised that homosexual parents are more likely to raise homosexual children. As one of the few forthright pro-homosexual advocates proclaimed, "Of course our children are going to be different."
In fact, many believe the percentages of non-heterosexual children in these studies would be even greater if more of the children had been raised from birth by openly homosexual parents. But most weren't. A majority of these children actually were born into and raised by mother-father couples before one of their parents "came-out" and the parents divorced.
Findings from the best and most recent twin studies have found that homosexuality, unlike eye color, is not genetically-caused. But there are a number of non-genetic mechanisms through which homosexuality could be transmitted from one generation to the next. Those mechanisms include role-modeling, social learning and differential reinforcement, as well as outright encouragement of non-heterosexuality by parents or others.
No one knows for sure by what complex mechanisms homosexual parents disproportionately rear homosexual children. But regardless of how, it appears they do. The public needs to be made aware of the findings of these studies so that when courts adjudicate and citizens vote on issues related to homosexuality, they're fully informed as to the possible consequences of those decisions on children.
###
For a review of the research studies alluded to above, as well as additional analysis and references, see article entitled, "A Review and Analysis of Studies Which Assessed Sexual Preference of Children Raised by Homosexuals."
I am a sixteen-year-old catholic. I was raised under the ways of my father's strict beliefs which I took as my own. He is 62 and grew up amongst priests.
I do not mean to attack the author of this article, but why would you call 'Perez' Hilton a "gay thug,"? Does our religion not teach goodness and to respect and honor our neighbor? The bible says that Jesus Christ begged His Father to forgive the sinners, because they did not know their bad ways. I am not against gay marriage, but I do not support it. Instead, I pray to God to lead us all unto the path of rightousness. Are we not all sinners? The bible does state, "May he who is clean of all sin, cast the first stone." I have not met nor heard of anyone in this entire world to be completely free of sin, for our souls are all filthy. Just please remember and keep in mind that God "forgives us our tresspasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us." So keep in mind that we must "turn the other cheek" and pray that we all become better people.
the reason why gay adoption is deemed not okay is because the parents are raising the children in a sinful environment. they are teaching the kids that that sort of behavior is not a sin and it is. We all sin but knowingly handing a child into an environment where parents arent setting a good example is a definite sin and mistake
Holly, thanks for the clarification on the adoption thing. Only problem is, I still don't get it. No offense, but your comment didn't really clarify WHY the Church is against gay adoptions, only what studies they have undertaken to find out.
I think Carrie set a precedent that is important, not only she did the right thing by speaking out and telling what many people wouldn't want to say by fear of repression but also she expressed her own faith. The Gay/Lesbian movement of rights is a hidden attempt to silence others and having the power to prosecute others because of their thinking. The great learning opportunity of this event is we have to stand solid strong for our believes, for our morals and values, do not be afraid, if Jesus Christ is on your side then do not fear.
Respectfully Louise and in good manners Im not here to have a contest so God Bless you.
I believe Bulbasar mentioned something about evil so I think Im trying to answer two people. and also I didnt say it made them gay. My brother in law has suffered from transgender problems and I watched his daughter suffer while he was ready to leave her.
His friends from what I gather talked to him and asked him to think of her and what he was doing. I dont know what took place and thats ok.
I only know she is happy he stayed.
I dont know what miracle happened but he doesnt seem to suffer too much from his gender problems anymore. His child is glad he didnt leave her behind and thats all I care about and thanks be to God.
I also have some friends who are Same Sex individuals. I dont have to subscribe or agree with the lifestyle but I will always love them.
I also do not hate anyone who is Same Sex Attraction.
I also said I wasnt an expert but a laywoman on the subject because I read Father Harvey's book Homosexuality and the Catholic Church: Clear Answers to Difficult Questions because I did not know anything and probably am still limited but I do trust in Jesus and what He taught resectfully.
I to have also questioned my own sexuality which is very hard and I hope courageous to say here and I still dont agree with the lifestyle even if I was Same Sex.
I would hope that I would join the Courage Apostolate.
I also trust in the Magisterium of the Catholic Church even though I dont understand all of its wisdom.
I also heard some years ago and I dont have the book of a child raised in with people from the "style". I never read the book but it wasnt very positive from the interview.
I cant give testimony to it I only recall and interview about it.
To be quite frank humbly Louise I dont know how this will turn out so I will pray for them and their children even though I dont agree with it.
The Courage Apostolate has helped me other ways for other topics other than Same Sex Attraction and Im forever grateful to the Cardinal who instituted it and called on Father Harvey who is now retired to head it.
Father Check I believe has it now. Anyone interested in what the Church teaches about Same Sex Attraction please feel free to surf there.
May God Bless their efforts.
Love in Christ Brothers and Sisters
Holly,Thank you for your reply. I re read your's & my comment & you were the writer who used the word evil - not I. Please re - read fr. Greg's comment re adoption.
we know for a fact that children do better in 2 parent homes - and many studies have shown the value of adoption even by same sex parents. I know of serveral such families that are well functioning with happy well balanced kids (& no it will not make the kids gay - that's pre determined before birth)
Thumbs up for Carrie and thumbs down for what's his name. Carrie has determination to stand up and be counted, while Prez is non-entity who is probalby looking for an improvement in his ratings. I would hope that Carrie will continue to do the politically incorrect thing and that she will continue to teach us why it it is important to get off the fence. Thanks
Lawrence
Louise and Bulbasaur if Im not mistaken the reason they have problem with the adoption of Same Sex Couples I believe has something to do with Sociological Studies.
They have done studies regarding two parent families of the opposite sex over the years and Im no expert but I think it has something to do with this and not religion or politics.
That I believe is the concern.
The Church never said anything about evil. Never heard the word even brought up in the Sociological aspect.
You will have to ask a trained Sociologist as to why.
Single mothers sometimes have enough on their hands being two parents and I give them kudos.
Read Humanae Vitae and then ask if its prophetic today?
Same thing with Same Sex attraction the Church explains this in Father Harvey's Book
Homosexuality and the Catholic Church Clear Answers to Difficult Questions.
In my research as a laywoman and Catholic Christian I needed some answers so I checked out the treasurer of the Courage Apostolate.
So it you get the chance and you want to know more about Same Sex Attraction check out Father Harvey's book and also go to the websight Courage Apostolate.
They have done excellent work.
Respectfully and God Bless Holly