More on Miss California and Gay Marriage Issue

Some folks took issue with my use of the word "bungled" in a column I wrote about Miss California's response on the gay marriage question put to her during the Miss USA competition. Some readers were annoyed at me and felt I was putting the contestant down for her opinion, which I wasn't. I was actually coming to her defense after Perez Hilton, called her a bitch, which was uncalled for and totally out of line. It would be a travesty if Donald Trump ever allows him to judge the pageant again.

In my column, my point was that if Prejean had really wanted to win, she could have phrased her response in a way that might not have gotten Hilton so upset at her.  I thought she could have been a little more diplomatic, maybe point out that this is an issue left up to the people in each state or something else to that effect.  Then, she could have expressed her wish for world peace. Okay, so now I'm being silly. But you get my point. This was a beauty contest after all.

At this point, it's still  unclear if Carrie Prejean's  answer caused her to get lower points from any other judges. According to the Associated Press, "besides Hilton, at least two more of the pageant's dozen judges have said Prejean should have given a more politic, if not politically correct, answer to avoid offending anyone and that it was her lack of tact, not her opposition to same-sex marriage, that ruffled feathers. "I do not fault her for her beliefs. I fault her for her complete lack of social grace, and that's a quality I want my Miss USA to possess," judge Alicia Jacobs, a former Miss Nevada, wrote on her blog."

And here's what a former winner had to say:

"A question like that is not relevant in a platform such as the Miss USA pageant. It's far too political and it's divisive as well," said Kenya Moore, the 1993 Miss USA who was one of the judges that named Prejean Miss California in November. "Half of the audience is going to agree and half is not, no matter what she said. It's a no-win situation."

Meanwhile, Prejean  is still enjoying her 15 minutes of fame, despite having lost to the former Miss North Carolina. Today, according to AP, she talked about how her state sponsors urged her to apologize afterward but she rejected the advice:

Prejean, 21, said officials from the Miss California USA pageant were worried that her comments would cost their contest financial backing and tried to prepare her for a string of post-pageant media interviews by discouraging her from discussing her religious beliefs.

"`You need to apologize to the gay community. You need to not talk about your faith. This has everything to do with you representing California and saving the brand,'" Prejean recalled being told. "I was representing California. I was representing the majority of people in California."

She offered her version of the tense hours following the April 19 Miss USA pageant while appearing at the San Diego megachurch that has helped shape her views. The Rock Church, founded by former San Diego Chargers defensive back Miles McPherson, was active in the campaign to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriages in California last year.

win situation."