In the beginning there was Carrie Prejean – the former Miss California USA who was castigated in the media for her opposition to gay marriage. Now – activists are setting their sights on Miss Beverly Hills — Lauren Ashley.

Ashley is a contestant in the Miss California USA pageant. She’s under attack for her belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Here’s what she told FOX:

“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 a belief held by most evangelical Christians. But then she added:

“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.”

As you might expect, the outrage has been fierce. Perez Hilton proclaimed on his entertainment website, “There’s a new dumb b**** in town.” Others called her anti-gay, a Christian homophobe. She’s meeting a fate similar to Prejean. She claims she was dethroned because she said gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry. Pageant officials fired her after she allegedly missed events – an allegation she denied.

But there’s an interesting twist in this battle over the queens. It turns out Miss Beverly Hills does not reside in 90120. Pageant rules do not require the contestants to live in the cities they represent and Ashley lives in Pasadena.

That news nugget has Beverly Hills Mayor Krasne fighting made. “We are dismayed by any potential association with the city of Beverly Hills,” she said. The city released a statement say it was “shocked” because it “does not sponsor a beauty pageant and has no association with Miss California USA.”

In other words – Beverly Hills doesn’t have a queen – so to speak.

The pageant director, who is gay, is supporting Ashley – telling the Los Angeles Times she has been unfairly attacked.

“I don’t agree with her,” Keith Lewis said, “But I will fight to the death for her right to have her opinion.”

They mayor said Beverly Hills “Has a long history of tolerance and respect.” So long as you aren’t a born-again Christian who does not support same-sex marriage.

Todd Starnes is a reporter for FOX News Radio and a best-selling author. You can purchase a copy of his book, “They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Disptick” by clicking here.

A Maryland public school teacher was punished after she ordered a student to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance.

The incident occurred at Robert Clemente Middle School in Montgomery County, MD. As students rose to recite the Pledge the teacher noticed one child still seated. She asked her to stand and the student refused. Still defiant, the teacher sent her to the office. The following morning, the girl once again refused to stand. This time, the teacher called two school police officers to escort the girl to the office.

Well – that sparked outrage from the girl, her family and the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. According to the ACLU, the girl was “so traumatized by her teacher’s humiliating and inappropriate reaction that she has not felt comfortable returning to school until the situation is addressed.”

The ACLU demanded an apology from the teacher. ACLU attorneys also demanded the teacher promise to respect the students rights in the future and discuss the incident with the class so it can become an educational opportunity.

“The law is crystal clear that a public school cannot embarrass or harass a student for maintaining a respectful silence during the Pledge of Allegiance,” ACLU attorney Ajmel Quereshi told the Washington Examiner.

Montgomery County school officials and the local teacher’s union have decided to back the ACLU and said the teacher violated district policy.

“It’s very clear that you can’t compel someone to take part in a patriotic act,” school spokesman Dana Tofig told the Examiner.

Todd Starnes is a reporter for FOX News Radio and a best-selling author. To purchase a copy of “They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick,” click here.

San Francisco school officials voted to expand programs for gay and lesbian students even though it faces a $113 million budget shortfall and massive layoffs.

The San Francisco Unified School District approved a resolution that guarantees funding for an anti-discrimination program. The estimated annual price tag — between $60,000 and $120,000.

The resolution will require schools to track harassment and discrimination of gays, provide cultural sensitivity training to staff and give parents educational materials.

Among the phrases deemed offensive – “That’s so gay.”

District officials argue that gay students are more likely than straight students to be bullied, attempt suicide or skip school. They were provided data showing 27 percent of gay students contemplated suicide.

“We get hate mail all the time from people who think we are the radical fringe for providing this support,” wrote board member Rachel Norton on her blog. According to her data, about 2,700 of the district’s middle school and high school students are gay and another 450 are transgender.

However, critics question whether the program is fiscally responsible given the district’s budget problems. School officials are preparing to layoff more than 900 workers – including 318 teachers.

The president of the United Educators of San Francisco told The Chronicle the layoffs are, “literally a decimation of the teaching force.”

Todd Starnes is a FOX News Radio reporter and best selling author. To get your copy of “They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick,” click here.

A Mississippi agnostic believes the seating in Southaven’s Municipal Court building violates his constitutional rights.

Carroll Roberson was in court on disorderly conduct charges and noticed that the benches –  taken from an old church — were engraved with crosses. Roberson told The Commercial Appeal the crosses represent an endorsement of a religion he doesn’t believe in.

“I’m afraid I couldn’t get a fair trial because I am not a Christian, but am agnostic,” Roberson told the newspaper. “When I saw those crosses I knew it was against the First Amendment.”

So Roberson has filed a motion with the city court challenging the religious symbols. A hearing has been scheduled for March 3.

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis said they installed the church pews to save money. The pews came from a local Baptist church – purchased by the city and turned into a performing arts center.

“This is just another example of war on any and all public expressions, whether intentional or not, of Christian faith in America,” Davis told The Commercial Appeal. “I have no intention of removing the benches from the courtroom.”

In other words, as some local Christians suggested, the agnostic can just sit on it.  

Todd Starnes is a FOX News Radio reporter and a best-selling author. Purchase a copy of They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick by clicking here.

Christian teachers in Florida’s Santa Rosa School District are vowing to appeal what some are calling draconian rules that prevent them from praying, reading their Bibles or even responding to email from parents that might include the words, “God bless you.”

Liberty Counsel, a Christian advocacy group, announced plans to appeal a judge’s ruling that declared the school was within its rights to clamp down on Christian teachers. Judge M. Casey Rodgers decision, released Friday, states there is no “chill” on free speech. The judge also refused to allow the Christian Educators Association International to intervene in the issue.

The group, Judge Casey wrote, “lacks standing to intervene because it has not demonstrated that the consent degree results in a objectively reasonable ‘chill’ on its members’ First Amendment rights.”

However, Michelle Winkler disagrees. She delivered testimony describing how she hid behind a closet door to pray with a colleague whose two-year-old child had died.

Another teacher, a 20-year veteran, was forced to tell parents that she was not allowed to respond to any email that contained a  Scripture verse or the phrase, “God bless you.”

Liberty Counsel also accused the school of banning any type of prayer – either public or private. “School employees are prohibited from ‘communication with a deity’ when in their ‘official capacity,’” the group alleges.

Liberty Counsel president Matt Staver accused the ACLU of launching a national strategy to remove religion from the public school system. “They are literally trying to drive Christians into the closet,” he said. ”We are going to see more of these kinds of cases.”

Additionally, Christian faculty are forbidden from bowing their heads or folding their hands during lunch, breaks, on-campus and off-campus events, or privately sponsored baccalaureate services.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Northwest Florida praised the judge’s ruling.

“The consent decree was clearly constitutional and designed to stop the practice of the School District advancing religious beliefs,” Benjamin Stevenson told the Pensacola News-Journal. “Hopefully, now the schools can focus on educating the students.”

Liberty Counsel says they will file a direct lawsuit against the Santa Rosa School District alleging the prayer ban is unconstitutional.

Todd Starnes is a best-selling author. Purchase a copy of They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick by clicking here.