"In my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be, between a man and a woman," she said to boos and applause at the pageant on April 19, 2009.

Celebrity blogger Hilton did take offense and went on the attack, calling Prejean a "dumb b----." He later apologized, offering to take Prejean out for coffee and a "talk."

"I was floored," Hilton told ABCNews.com the day after the pageant. "I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."

Prejean was chosen runner-up, while Miss North Carolina, Kristen Dalton, took the title.

"She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the frontrunner before that," Hilton said.

WASHINGTON -- A leading opponent of the effort to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland used a high-profile congressional hearing Tuesday to allege that the Internal Revenue Service leaked a list of its donors to an adversarial group just as it was mounting a campaign to put gay marriage on the ballot.

John C. Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, told the House Ways and Means Committee that the disclosure of its tax records last year may have chilled potential donors. He called on lawmakers to investigate how the documents became public.

"You can imagine our shock and disgust over this," said Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University in California. "We jealously guard our donors as almost every other nonprofit does, particularly on the issues that we deal with, which are so contentious."

SACRAMENTO — The artistic director of the California Musical Theater, a major nonprofit producing company here in the state’s capital, resigned on Wednesday in the face of growing outrage over his support for a ballot measure this month that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.

The Sacramento Bee
Scott Eckern.
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The artistic director, Scott Eckern, came under fire recently after it became known that he contributed $1,000 to support Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to recognize only male-female marriages. The measure was approved by 52 percent of California voters on Election Day. (Same-sex marriages had been performed in California since June.)

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Mr. Eckern said that his donation stemmed from his religious beliefs — he is a Mormon — and that he was “deeply saddened that my personal beliefs and convictions have offended others.”

His donation was brought to light by online activists angry about the measure’s success at the polls.

“I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings, maybe even betrayal,” Mr. Eckern said. “It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction.”

But the swift resignation was not met with cheers by those on either side.

Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer (“Hairspray”), called Mr. Eckern last week and said that he would not let his work be performed in the theater. “I was uncomfortable with money made off my work being used to put discrimination in the Constitution,” Mr. Shaiman said. He added, however, that the entire episode left him “deeply troubled” because of the potential for backlash against gays who protested Mr. Eckern’s donation.

“It will not help our cause because we will be branded exactly as what we were trying to fight,” said Mr. Shaiman, who is gay. “But I do believe there comes a time when you cannot sit back and accept what I think is the most dangerous form of bigotry.”

Supporters of the marriage ban said that critics of Mr. Eckern were attacking freedom of expression, and they chastised the theater’s board for subjecting Mr. Eckern to a political litmus test.

“No matter your opinion on Prop. 8, we should all agree that it is wrong to intimidate or harass anyone for exercising their constitutional rights,” said a letter to the theater’s board president on Tuesday by Frank Schubert, campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind the ballot measure.

For its part, the theater disavowed Mr. Eckern’s donation and issued only a brief statement on Wednesday accepting his resignation, while emphasizing that it would not “impinge on the rights of its employees to engage in political activities.” A longtime employee, Mr. Eckern had been artistic director since 2002.

The outrage over Mr. Eckern and the subsequent dismay voiced by Mr. Shaiman are the most recent evidence of the tension running through the entertainment industry since Election Day, particularly in California.