Donald Trump Allows Carrie Prejean to Retain Title and Free Speech

Carrie Prejean retains her title and her free speech.

In a news conference today, Donald Trump affirmed that Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, would keep her title. Here's Miss Prejean's speech at the news conference. It is a passionate and articulate affirmation of the rights of free speech in this country. The video is long, but worth a watch.



Why, may you ask, is free speech the issue here? As a case in point, take a look at a news article from the LA Times. Keep in mind, this is a news article, not an op-ed piece:

Ever since Miss California Carrie Prejean declared onstage last month at the Miss USA Pageant that she believed gay people should not have the right to marry....

The media always characterizes the belief that marriage is between a man and a woman - what Miss Prejean said - as an attack on gay people' rights. Notice the subtle, yet persistent shift in language that the press always uses. There's more:

[Pageant officials] had nothing but scorn for the National Organization for Marriage, a group opposed to same-sex marriage that used in one of its commercials video of Prejean's now infamous pageant answer.

"Shame. Shame, shame, shame," [Keith Lewis, co-executive director of the Miss California USA pageant] said. "Shame for taking this young woman and exploiting her to further your own agenda."

Obviously, NOM using Carrie Prejean's celebrity and beliefs about marriage is exploitation, while a Miss USA pageant isn't? These folks have a very skewed idea of exploitation. This is only exploitation in the sense that people like Keith Lewis didn't like Carrie Prejean's answer about marriage.

In this case, her real recognition is over a stand on an issue. It's not the message the California pageant had in mind. "You have to understand we never want to take away a girl's beliefs or her voice," Lewis said. "But when you wear the title that says 'I represent everyone,' you can't then polarize the people you represent."

Well too darned bad for the California pageant. If they don't like the answer, why did they allow the question?

Free speech isn't about being politically correct or only saying what pageant officials want you to say. Thanks for the valuable lesson Carrie.