Miss Beverly Hills Cites Antigay Bible Verse

From California arrives news of another beauty queen who harbors antigay attitudes. Miss Beverly Hills 2010 Lauren Ashley opposes marriage equality and defends her position by quoting a passage from Leviticus that urges death for gays.

Ashley, 23, will compete in November for the Miss California crown formerly held by Carrie Prejean, who also opposes marriage equality, but never publicly quoted Biblical nuggets in support of killing gay people.

The Fox News entertainment blog Pop Tarts conducted an interview with Ashley, in which she invoked the Old Testament admonition.

"The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman," said Ashley. "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."

"I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone," Ashley continued. "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."

The competitor said she is not concerned that her views could jeopardize her prospects of being crowned Miss California, despite the uproar surrounding Prejean last year.

"That isn't really the issue," she said. "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."