New Path To Stardom: Be Blonde, Hate Gays

Despite Carrie Prejean‘s claims that the Miss California pageant was unfriendly to her homophobic views, one Lauren Ashley is treading in her footsteps — by saying gays should die.

Specifically, Miss Beverly Hills 2010, who will compete in November’s Miss California pageant, told Fox News,

The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white.

And:

I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone. If he says that having sex with someone of your same gender is going to bring death upon you, that’s a pretty stern warning, and he knows more than we do about life.

It’s not clear how loving everyone and “having the best for everyone” are compatible with putting gays to death, but consistency may not be Ashley’s strong suit, theologically or otherwise. Asked if she’s worried that her views will damage her chance of winning, she says,

That isn’t really the issue. I have a lot of friends that are gay, and … I have a lot of friends who have different views, and we share our views together. There’s no hate between me and anyone.

Except for, like, the part about how she thinks they should die. Keith Lewis, the pageant director much maligned by Prejean in her book Still Standing, says Ashley’s views won’t hurt her in the competition: “The Miss California USA system has always had a place for an individual’s thoughts and opinions when it comes to all sides of political issues.” And while last year’s pageant said it aimed to “reflect the progressive attitudes of the contestants as well as our forward- looking state,” it’s possible that in the wake of Prejean’s book, organizers want to refute the claim that they discriminate against conservative contestants. Could homophobia actually be a smart move for Ashley, positioning her as the next darling of Sean Hannity and the religious right? The Carrie Prejean Media Machine lost some steam after Prejean’s sex tape scandal, and it’s possible that la Prejean will fade from public life after her upcoming opposite marriage. Time for a pretty new bigot to step into the breach?

Maybe, but Ashley should know the risks. Fox News reports that although “she parties with Paris Hilton,” she’s also saving herself for marriage. Ashley says,

I feel like my body is the Temple of God and it’s my temple so it’s really good to treat it well. I also feel like sex was made for marriage. You really show your future husband or wife respect and you build a lot of trust before you get married. You don’t have sex with other people, so that should definitely build trust, because you waited.

If it turns out that Ashley’s sexual mores aren’t as rigid as those she would impose on others, she may well find herself Prejeanized.

Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley Opposes Same Sex Marriage [Fox News, via ThinkProgress]