Checked on your freedom of speech lately? If not, consider the plight of 21-year-old Carrie Prejean, a student at the San Diego Christian College who was selected as first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant last month. During the question-and-answer part of the competition, Ms. Prejean was asked if every state should legalize gay marriage. Smiling brightly, the young woman said: "I think that I believe a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anyone out there."

Now, most polls show that the majority of Americans agree with Ms. Prejean, including the President of the United States, Barack Obama. Yet since she made that statement as Miss California, the woman has been persecuted in the media.

MSNBC allowed a guest to call her vile names and the far-left cast of characters on that cable network has delighted in mocking and demeaning Ms. Prejean almost nightly. The left-wing blogs have been especially vicious, and now, even her own pageant is turning against her—she's being investigated for possibly violating pageant rules by giving unapproved interviews. Of course, she gave those interviews trying to defend herself against the media assaults.

This is a disgraceful exposition with wide implications for all of us. Here we have an American citizen answering a direct question respectfully and honestly and being punished for it. You don't get more un-American than that. Where is the ACLU on this? That great defender of speech freedom has been totally silent. Once again, the American Civil Liberties Union displays its biased hypocrisy like a giant float balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

And where is the National Organization for Women? A young woman is being victimized by hate speech, actually being called a bitch on a variety of television programs, and NOW has no comment? Again, the hypocrisy is breathtaking.

Finally, where is the homosexual community? Do they not respect freedom of speech? They don't want to be punished for their expression, right? It would be incredibly smart for a gay leader to pull a Voltaire and publicly state, "I don't agree with what you say, but I defend your right to say it." So who's going to be courageous and step up on this one?

The issue of gay marriage has been defined by some of its supporters as a civil rights situation. Isn't freedom of speech a civil rights situation? Therefore, let's call this Miss California deal exactly what it is—a gross violation of the spirit of America. If a 21-year-old beauty contestant can be persecuted for uttering an opinion based upon a sincere belief, then all of us are at risk as well.