Gay-Rights Group Reaches Out to Miss California

Carrie Prejean, the Miss USA contestant who stirred up controversy with her opposition to gay marriage, may soon be having dinner with gays and lesbians from her home state, the San Francisco Bay Times reports. Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said he invited Prejean because “Miss California probably doesn’t realize how hurtful her statements are, especially to LGBT youth.”

Kors wants to “discuss how sentiments such as those expressed by Miss California can contribute to a climate that leads to harassment and bullying of LGBT youth,” especially in the wake of two recent suicides linked to anti-gay bullying. “This is about something much bigger than the issue of marriage alone, and I have to believe that if she meets us, she will come to see our humanity.” (More gay marriage stories.)