That was Miss Teen South Carolina, right?

calling a person a 'dumb bitch' is definitely gonna help us all. yep.

i didn't watch the show, so i don't know how her answer could've affected her positioning in 2nd place. maybe there was something else, another answer. maybe the swimsuit competition?

I don't agree with her either, but just from a few-second answer, you're jumping to the conclusion that she didn't reach that view by thinking critically or independently? Just because she was raised with one belief doesn't mean she hasn't thought it over again as an adult, and it's unfair to assume that anyone who disagrees with you couldn't possibly have been thinking critically or independently. Besides, she said that she thinks it's good that people can vote and make decisions about it, so this is about the best and most polite answer you could possibly get from someone who doesn't personally approve of gay marriage.

I know some very intelligent and well-read people who don't approve of gay marriage, and although I don't agree with them, I can recognize that they've come to this view by serious thought. We don't know if this girl is just blindly repeating what she was taught or if she's done the same thing, and I think it's really unfair to judge from an off-the-cuff, few-second answer that's she's not as smart as you are, which, yes, is basically what you're saying. If she'd said "My parents taught me that both gay and straight couples should be able to get married," would you draw the same conclusion?

 Sad :( But i Love Perez for bringing up the topic , this issue should never be forgotten

Her whole answer was grammaticaly incorrect , wtf is opposite marriage ??

I wouldnt call her a ''dumb bitch'' , but she is pretty close  , Ha

xoxo 

I know some very intelligent and well-read people who don't approve of gay marriage, and although I don't agree with them, I can recognize that they've come to this view by serious thought. We don't know if this girl is just blindly repeating what she was taught or if she's done the same thing, and I think it's really unfair to judge from an off-the-cuff, few-second answer that's she's not as smart as you are, which, yes, is basically what you're saying.

 ^^ Her entire answer screamed 'bimbo'. Same-Sex marriage or...Opposite marriage? I'm sorry, but practically everything she said was gramatically incorrect; her words didn't make sense and she seemed lost on the point she was trying to make. At that age, and with the preparation that goes into these events, she should be able to string together a well-stated sentence. So I certainly wouldn't deem her as a 'well-read' individual.  

the thing that annoyed me about this though is that when she said a marriage should be between a man and a woman everyone started cheering, i mean every gay out there probably shed a tear at that moment knowing how everyone feeleven though it doesnt affect those people in any way.

I think anyone who would say "I was raised to believe" is already admitting he/she hasn't put any independent thoughts into the matter, and is just regurgitating someone else's opinion. Too bad she wasn't raised to believe in compassion and fairness.

1. The question was asked at a beauty pageant.

2. Perez Hilton asked the question.

Now I question why this was even asked at a beauty pageant. Since when has a political stance truly mattered in terms of putting a crown on someone's big-haired head. I don't agree with her stance but she is entitled to her opinion on religious grounds. What IS wrong is whether she believes the state shouldn't allow it, which wasn't part of her statement. My guess is that it is her belief that it should not be legal and that is something that hopefully will be triumphed over as time goes on and she is exposed more to gay and lesbian people and more and more states legalize it.

What is really wrong is Hilton using some silly event to make himself look like a crusader and then with no class slam her online.  

The Miss USA is hardly the same thing as Hardball with Chris Matthews. Were any of the other contestants asked politically charged questions? (I didn't watch that inane show. So I have no idea.) I wouldn't be surprised if the self-serving Perez Hilton was trying to sandbag one the contestants. As we all know, he's a class act.

As Miss California amply demonstrated.

Now if someone wants to start a contest testing the IQs of geek girls, my husband will finally have a reason to slobber over the screen.

Obviously I don't agree with this girl's position on gay marriage, but really, I think it's kinda harsh to say that she demonstrated "complete lack of ability to think critically and independently.".

Really? I mean granted, she's no genius, but I think she did answer the question as diplomatically as she could, given her position. Perez asked a loaded question (not that that's a bad thing), where a simple yes or no from her would have caused the same reaction; some boos, some cheers. So she chose to say that she likes that we can vote on the issue, and then gave her personal opinion as the "why or why not".

The only thing wrong with that is that it shouldn't be something we vote on, but I give her credit for trying.

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I may be straight, but I'm not narrow.

I think the big issue here is the contestant said, "that's how I was raised"...what I hear is "blame my parents for making me a bigot"...when you're 11, you can blame your parents for giving you a point of view, but when you're 25, you need to take responsibility for it. 

And while she was at it, why didn't she just say that African-Americans should use different drinking fountains? or that Japanese-Americans should be put into camps for the Pearl Harbor attack?  I know these sound like harsh comparisons, but until we start treating these statements on a level, we'll get nowhere close to equal rights.

Sadly Faux News just referred to her as a "beautiful talented brave young lady" then implied that she should have won the title and that the gay community/liberals are more intolerant than they are.  I wondered how long it would take for them to use her as a victim.

**Sighs**

At the end of the day I don't know why this is such news.  A few days ago 99.9% of the population hadn't even heard of her.  I almost wish that Perez wouldn't have asked a loaded question.  One one hand, everyone should have the right to express they're opinions but on the other it's still hard on the heart to have to listen to a stranger telling me (and the community) we aren't worthy of being on the same level as them. 

Honestly, I'm kind of divided on this.

I commend Perez for asking the question. At the same time, I commend Miss California for answering the question in a most honest way possible and not lying. I don't think she personally meant to offend anyone; she just answered a question, she didn't promulgate any anti-gay agenda. At the same time, she sort of injected her own beliefs into the question --- did she really answer it?

I think Perez's continued bashing of her needs to stop, it's disgusting. If he didn't like her answer (or knew he wanted her to answer a certain way), why would he have asked it?

I still wonder how he became a judge in the first place.

The sad thing is that answers aren't what is important, it's looks. They don't have to think, they just have to look pretty. Now, I don't want to offend anyone here, I don't have anything against the pagents or those who compete, my sister was a beauty queen. It's not that the pagents are inherently bad, but the enphasis isn't on thinking. She wasn't the only one who gave a bad answer to a question, other contestants danced around answers.

Of course, I also thought it was unfair that some girls got controversial questions, while others got no brainers. A) "what do you think of domestic violence?" B) "it's wrong, we should stop it"

The gay marriage question could have been answered as to not offend anyone, while still taking an honest stand. 

She could have said "I beleive in equality under the law but also in religious freedom. The establishment of civil unions that ensured equal rights would ensure equality, but marriage should be left as a religious term so no one feels thier religious institution is threatened." That would have been a good middle of the road answer, if she wanted to honestly give an opinion against same sex marriage.

Personally, I would have made the argument for same sex marriage, elloquently with an emphasis on legal reasons the basic American principle of equality. Because I have a beleif I feel strongly about and I can defend it.

Her beleif was the opposite, but she couldn't even defend it, at all. Yes, on some level, it's good she didn't propogate the anti-gay agenda, but I might have preferred it, because at least that you can debate, that shows some thought because you're informed of your side of the issue. 

It's a pagent, not a politcal debate, I know. But I do think it's good to have your own beliefs and to be able to express them, even if others don't agree. But, maybe honesty isn't the way to win a pagent, because if you have an opinion somone won't agree and you'll alienate them. 

But, the thing is, even honestly giving her opinion, she didn't give it very intelligently.

But overall, I don't think intelligence is emphasized in these competitions so much as looks. But this isn't an intelligence pagent or a political awareness pagent. 

I do think it's sad that what she siad probably reflects what a lot of people beleive. "I was raised this way" so it must be right. Which isn't a sign of thinking. The fact that her answer implied a lack of understanding of the issue is also troubling.

Hopefully, the negative reaction against her will send the message that ignorance isn't cool, that we should be imformed thinking people. Of course, I'm for gay marraige, but some people aren't and have a right to their opinion because it's a free country. People should also have a right to express thier opinion. So I can't be against someone for having an opinion. I can not vote for them if they're running for office, I can boycotte their stores if they have stores, but they still have a right to thier opinion. I can accept that, I can defend that, but ignorance bothers me.

What bothers me here isn't so much that she was against gay marriage, it was that she didn't have reason to be. Even verbatem quoting the arguments of the religious right would have been enough, because shows a why. 

I guess my hope is, that if more people are informed about issues, and form thier own opinion, they'll come to form an opinion in favor of equality by thinking for themselves. By considering the arguments.If someone has an opinion for a reason, they can change it based on arguments, and the consideration of different reasoning. If they beleive something blindly, they'll never consider anything else, there can be no change or progress. 

I hope I've articulated this clearly. While I'm against homophobia, but people have a right to thier beliefs. Over all though, I'm more upset by ignorance than a belief different than my own, and I hope that's ok. 

Also, instead of beauty pagents, could we have over all quality pagents, where we factor in intellegence, integrity,and talent? Miss USA is a role model to little girls, right? Can't we have role models who have meret beyond being beautiful?