Miss USA runner-up could file suit over discrimination, says legal analyst

Washington, April 22 (ANI): Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean, who answered she was against the legalisation of gay marriage in California, may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the pageant for discrimination, says a legal analyst.

Miss California, during the recent Miss USA telecast, had picked gay judge Perez Hilton's question whether every state should make same-sex marriages legal.

Prejean, who lost out to Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton, spoke against the possibility and it was suggested that it was her negative answer that may have stabbed her chances of winning.

She recently said that she believed "God was testing her character and faith" with the question and that she was glad she stood her ground.

And now, legal analyst Mercedes Colwin has said that Prejean may have grounds to turn to court.

"It's her religious beliefs which prompted her to say 'I don't believe in same-sex marriages.' So she was espousing her beliefs," and could sue for a violation of Title VII, which forbids discrimination on the basis of religion," Fox News quoted Colwin as saying.

Colwin added: "If she really feels some tremendous stress as a result of losing - and I'm certain she's probably devastated from what happened to her - she can articulate a viable claim for monetary compensation for psychic injury."

Colwin also said that "garden-variety psychic injury case" may land Prejean with 50,000-100,000 dollars if she had a medical expert to testify, otherwise she would probably bank less than 25,000 dollars if successful.

However, Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior legal analyst, countered the suggestion saying the suit would land in trash since the government was not involved in the contest and there was no violation of rights in that private enterprise.

A spokeswoman for the Miss USA pageant refused to comment. (ANI)