So now the Miss America pageant is the next place to discuss gay marriage.

Miss California is asked by judge Perez Hilton, an openly gay gossip blogger, if she is in favor of gay marriage. She stated that she was raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, but in our country one is free to choose their partner.

Suddenly there is a cat fight between a few of the other "queens" in the audience after the pageant. They cannot believe that Miss California is given first runner up status because of her views.

Since when did 'how' you answer a question determine your right to win? It should not have been about the content of her answer and whether the judges agreed or not. And since when do we live in a pink Nazi society that sensors free speech. She can have that view. More than 60% of Americans, despite what certain lobbyists tell you, believe in marriage as defined as one man and one woman.

So good for Miss California. There is at least one young lady in the taffeta state of California that still holds to her morals and does not sacrifice them for a crown. Shame on the Miss California pageant organization for chastising her for her opinion.

Johnny Franks

* * *

As I see it Perez Hilton shouldn't have asked the question if he wasn't prepared to accept an honest answer that didn't agree with his opinion. I agree with Mr. Franks, Miss California shouldn't be castigated for expressing her opinion.

For the present time, we still claim to have a right to free speech in this country. Though the future of that right looks to be on very shaky ground.

Steve Plemmons
Rossville

* * *

Dad-gum, you people must be absolutely desperate for something to complain about. Now you have become defenders and protectors of those great American institutions of culture, like the Miss America pageant. By the way, Paris Hilton is a woman. She might wish she were a man sometimes, but she is clearly a woman.

Charlie Neff
Los Angeles, CA

* * *

Truthfully, the question should not have been asked. It’s akin to asking whether or not one disapproves of interracial marriage or whether one hates gays or an ethnic group. It’s inappropriate to ask, and when a person who feels negatively toward these things answers honestly, they come off as bigoted – which they are, and they have an absolute right to be a bigot in private.

However, there is, and always has been, a limit to free speech (yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater is the most cited example of this). Limits include speech that is injurious to others or has the potential to cause harm; recent examples include any McCain/Palin rally, where phrases like “Kill him!”, “Terrorist!”, etc. were shouted with reckless abandon for the express purpose of inflaming unstable people. And we see how hand they tried to stifle that.

What many seemingly well-meaning (and those who aren’t) people don’t understand (or want to) is one-quarter or more teenage suicides are committed by teens who are gay, lesbian, transgendered, questioning, or even perceived as one of those by others. These kids hear so much hatred on a daily basis – from blowhard politicians who are only catering to their base (who are base), their peers, their siblings, their parents, their teachers, their administrators, their ministers – people don’t understand how homophobia and ignorance kills children, like the nine year-old boy who hanged himself because he was bullied at school for being perceived as gay (he was obviously too young to know) and the school officials were of no help whatsoever, or the young man who became the subject of the Lifetime movie Prayers for Bobby (recommended for everyone; I can’t get through it myself) who flings himself off of a freeway overpass because his fanatically religious mother can’t accept him.

What Miss California said may be seen as simply expressing her opinion, which she did. But it’s part of a much bigger problem that needs to be addressed – homophobia kills human beings. Yes, we are human (that seems to be forgotten or ignored in many circles), and deserve to be treated thusly.

And? Being gay and having morals are not mutually exclusive, thank you very much.

Jay Craven
Highland Park

* * *

Wow, talk about serious discrimination. For far too long these people have put fear in so many lives. They have done so by using smear tactics via the Internet, controlling written, audio and video media, and by "getting in the faces" of anyone who has the nerve to disagree with them.

Here is another example of such bigotry. When I read what was said about the Miss USA pageant I realized things were at a boiling point. The vitriolic verbiage spouted on blogs and websites was sickening.

When I read the opinion piece I realized these people will stop at nothing to portray anyone who disagrees with their stance as uncaring and hateful. These heterophobes should not be allowed to act in such a manner.

Dr. Adam Edwards, MD, Ph.D.
Chattanooga
DrDon53@yahoo.com

* * *

A news flash to Charlie Neff of Los Angeles. Paris Hilton is female, but the bigot in question, Perez Hilton, is male.

Tommy Charles
Chattanooga

* * *

Perez Hilton has made Carrie Prejean an overnight superstar. Along with the rest of the world, I know who this first runner-up beauty is, but I still don't know who won the pageant.

Jim Yarbrough
Chattanooga

* * *

Let's be clear, there is no violation of anyone's civil rights with the gay marriage issue. If "no" man or woman, be they straight or gay, can marry someone of the same sex, it's not a civil rights issue. Period.

This is about redefining marriage in order to gain the appearance and acceptance of it being a normal, mainstream behavior. That's all it is and that is proven when a "civil union" is often proposed to the gays but is not an acceptable alternative by the "community."

W.D. Gardner
Cleveland

* * *

First off, I don't have anything against gay people. Second off, I have a segment in my head and it tells me to mind my own business and stick my head in the sand on gay marriage. And C, it takes too much energy to come to an honest answer on gay marriage so, if you don't mind, I'll express my opinion in a private voting booth. Sorry.

But removing the "inappropriate question" on this Miss America stuff and from a curbside view I had to see for myself who Perez Hilton really is so I Googled him. His real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. He's best buddies with Paris Hilton and we all know how she got famous. This guy is a gay bigot (heterophobe), a blatant social climber and "nice guy" is not how a lot of people describe him. He got famous for writing ridiculous and hurtful things that made people look at his blog. Nice.

I'm sure the Miss America people (the Trumps) know how to Google and the sickness here is that the Donald knew what he was doing, got exactly what he paid for and exactly what he wanted. You reckon he'll throw David Duke up there to balance things out next year? He believes in free speech, too.

This is stupid and a sad commentary on things Planet Earth. If I were gay I would be really ticked at Miss America, Inc. & LLC for letting a smug, tubby, wedge-headed clown like Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. advocate for me.

Savage Glascock

* * *

To the person who claims homophobia kills, I would like to counter that sin is what kills people, spiritually. There are many of us in America who still actually believe in God and what He revealed to us in the Bible.

As American citizens we have the right to believe in the Bible and have our freedom of speech to express what we believe the Bible teaches. If you do not allow people to express what the Bible teaches, then you are taking that person's freedom away from them. You have the right as an American citizen to express your believe in homosexuality; I have the right to express my belief that God teaches it to be immoral.

I am sorry you feel that that makes me a bigot, but it is my belief and I can back it up with a book that has been around for centuries.

Michaele Hughes
Chattanooga

* * *

I want to bring up two issues here:

1 – A judge asked a loaded question. If she would have agreed that same-sex marriage should be legal, people would be up in arms. Either answer was bound to cause a storm.

2 – What is the point of these pageants? To show that dolled up girls can have brains and talents? I don’t get it. These pageants should be discontinued.

Why do people continue to participate (by being a contestant or watching it on TV) in a contest that honors women based on appearances? Some are blessed with beautiful bodies. Some are not. Before someone responds and states that the contest isn’t all about beauty, I will stop you right there. Have you ever seen an unattractive woman in this contest? No. Beauty is the premise for this competition.

After researching the pageant and its purpose, I found that it is merely a scholarship program. Ladies must pick a platform or an issue that affects America and is important to them. After they win the pageant they travel the US speaking about this platform.

Give me a break. We are honoring women based on physical appearance. Newsflash – beauty fades. If would-be contestants need a scholarship, there are plenty available. Moreover, if a pretty girl has an issue that is important to her and she wishes to share it, she doesn’t have to be a pageant winner to share it and make a difference in this county.

To those that will surmise that I’m an angry, bitter woman who is jealous of those “honored” in this pageant I will say this: I am an attractive 30 year old female who has been heterosexual 28 years of my life. Two years ago I met my soul mate – she just happened to be in a woman’s body. I am not the least bit upset that a contestant in this pageant doesn’t approve of same-sex marriage. That is her opinion and she has every right to it. She was asked a question and provided a candid, honest answer. Bravo.

Shame on Perez Hilton for writing negative things about this contestant on his blog simply because their views differ. He is disgusting and feeds on negativity.

Rachel Bonner
Chattanooga

* * *

This is not an attack on a previous opinion. However I would like to
correct some misconceptions of fact.

I don’t have a problem with the question being asked although Mr. Hilton wasn’t asking it for background on this young woman. He was asking it to inflame the issue, and gain notoriety for himself in the process. He even feels he can’t have enough popularity without using a stage name instead of using his real name, Mario Lavandeira.

The writer also moves from “disapproves of” to “hates gays or an ethnic group” in the same sentence so smoothly it seems he is comparing the two as the same. So you cannot disapprove of others actions without hating them? Would the writer have us believe by stating her beliefs, Miss
Prejean, although contrary to the judges’, she was inciting violence? What a crock.

Miss Prejean has a right to her beliefs in private and in public, weather they are popular or not. And when she answered the question graciously she did not call Mr. Hilton a “Stupid B----“or any other names. She wasn’t the one spreading demeaning “hate” speech on the internet. Bigotry, as stated by the previous writer, infers intolerance. The judge seems to have obvious intolerance issues way more than Miss Prejean, but he is not a bigot? But then that’s the double standard imposed by many in our society.

The citing of free speech, as referred to in the Bill of Rights, simply means without government reprisal. It has nothing to do with society, peers or anyone other than government. Comparing answering the question asked, while staying true to her morals, to inciting violence by “unstable people” is quite appalling.

Side note; what was first reported as being shouted at a McCain rally as “kill him” was found to be unfounded by the secret service. Out of thousands, including said secret service and other officers in the crowd at the rally, only the reporter seems to have heard it. Simple Google search produces quick reference.

“Homophobia kills human beings”? Would the writer have us believe matches burn down stores, guns and cars kill people and computers write lies on the internet? Sounds a bit silly. While I’m on this part, according to Mr. Daniel Webster’s dictionary, a phobia refers to an irrational fear. Homophobia is the favorite of Ms Perez’s ilk, attempting to indicate all
those so accused are “irrationally afraid” of gays. There is no fear,
irrational or otherwise of gays. Disapproval of their lifestyle is not
fear.

Here’s the crux, the forcing of acceptance of their lifestyle on the
rest of us is what incites the anger towards the gay community. Simple
observance of basic nature should reveal how wrong gay lifestyle is. I
know, some academia is going to point out some obscure fish or snail in
the Solomon Islands changes its own sex or the male has the babies such as
Sea Horses, but they don’t force the turtles or elephants to do the same.

I do not, nor do I think most of our society, condone violence against
those with other beliefs. Killing of anyone due to their life styles is
wrong. I mourn with any family or parent who has lost loved ones because
of the actions of others. That doesn’t make homosexuality right. There is good and evil in this world and the deceiver goes to and fro seeking whom he will destroy. “Each did what he thought was right in his own eyes”. That doesn’t mean it was right.

While being gay or straight may not infer the possession or lack of
morals, there is right and wrong, period. That fact is what the more
liberal in our society would have us deny. Homosexuality is not the only
sin that would make someone immoral. It is not the only or biggest sin in
this world, but let’s be clear, it is sin.

Dave Schussler
Chattanooga

* * *

Last time I checked, this country was called The United States Of America. Our country is represented by democracy, and freedom. One of those particular freedoms is called freedom of speech.

There was nothing wrong with the answer Miss California gave. She was asked a question, and she gave her answer. There is no right or wrong answer to the question she was given. The judges wanted to know her own personal viewpoint and she gave it. And now everyone's up in arms about it because some people don't like her answer. You don't have to like it. You don't have to agree with it. But you do have to accept it, because Miss California is your fellow American.

I myself don't have anything against gay marriage. I don't feel it's my place, or anyone else's for that matter, to say who can and who can't get married. I feel that is God's place and God's alone and if He has a problem with it, He will deal with it in his way. Does that make me more right or more wrong than anyone else? No, of course not. It is simply my opinion.

There is nothing more UnAmerican than turning on your fellow countrymen because they think differently than you do. Guess what people? We are all different. That's what makes each of us special and unique. So instead of hating each other over our differences and differences of opinions, why not embrace each other over them?

Mariah Smith

* * *

Same sex marriage will continue to be an explosive issue just as abortion is. Perhaps Perez Hilton was seeking affirmation for his view of of same sex marriage?

The one thing that seems overlooked in the entire situation is this: Miss California did not answer the question as it was posed. Instead, she offered her personal opinion of gay/straight relationships in general. In terms of points for an effective answer revolving around an intensely contested social issue question, she failed. Period. She has received recognition for her support of traditional values, but she did not answer the question.

Ted Ladd
Rossville