Beverly Hills denounces anti-gay beauty queen
The city of Beverly Hills has rejected Lauren Ashley, the beauty queen who said that God wanted gay people dead.
Ms Ashley, a contestant in the Miss California pageant, claimed to hold the title of Miss Beverly Hills, but a statement from the city says there is no such role.
She told Fox News earlier this week that God was clear that having sex with people of the same gender would result in death.
Quoting Leviticus, she said: “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.”
But a statement from the city of Beverly Hills said it “strongly condemns” her statements and that Ms Ashley, a Pasadena resident, did not represent the city.
It added that it was contacting pageant officials to prevent beauty queens falsely claiming to be representing it.
Beverly Hills mayor Nancy Krasne said: “The city council was shocked to see statements made by a beauty pageant contestant under the name of Beverly Hills who does not live in nor represent our city.
“We are dismayed by any potential association with the city of Beverly Hills, which has a long history of tolerance and respect.”
Following her anti-gay outburst, Ms Ashley said she had lots of gay friends who respected her view.
She also spoke of her admiration for last year’s Miss California, Carrie Prejean.
Ms Prejean lost the Miss USA pageant and her crown after announcing she disagreed with gay marriage, although pageant organisers said she had failed to turn up for appeartances.
She became a poster girl for the Christian right following her remarks and was revered by some as a martyr for Christian values.
But she was swiftly dropped when it was revealed she had had breast implants and appeared in home-made solo porn videos.
