"Of course they will try to punish her, but we know she will be fine in the end, because her values are in the right place," he added.
NOM president Maggie Gallagher, meanwhile, offered these words to Prejean: "Congratulations."
Despite the firing, "Carrie will be free to define her own mission and message from now on," stated Gallagher, whose organization has been airing an ad featuring Prejean’s widely-known response.
After the ad aired, the Miss Universe Organization said it sent a cease-and-desist letter to NOM claiming the clip of Prejean used in the ad was an unauthorized use of copyrighted material from the 2009 Miss USA television program.
Although Prejean had attracted a bandwagon of critics for her marriage answer, she was celebrated for taking a stand for her beliefs by Christian pro-family groups, many of which gave her the platform to their audiences.
But while many Christian conservatives rose to her defense, some cautioned against ushering her into being the "new family values spokeswoman," noting that photos of her posing topless (but unexposed) would send a contradictory message.
"Prejean's pictures are the kind that normally would elicit disapproval from pro-family groups," Dr. Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of Psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, had told The Christian Post.
"However, some groups (Dove Awards, Liberty University, Values Voters Summit, NOM) have given her a platform simply because she said she believes marriage between a man and a woman, apparently discounting the harm to family values from her risqué modeling work," he said.
In his blog, Throckmorton wrote, "[U]nless religious conservatives have some kind of answer to our girls about how they can lionize a Miss USA contestant and stress modesty at the same time, I do not see the virtue in giving her the platform.”
During the Las Vegas pageant, openly gay gossip blogger Perez Hilton had asked Prejean whether every state should follow Vermont's recent move to legalize same-sex marriage.
In response, the Southern Califonria beauty queen said that "in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised," she added.
In an interview after the pageant with entertainment host Billy Bush, Prejean said thought her answer did cost her the crown – a conclusion that most have come to considering her first-runner-up placement.
According to Wednesday's announcement, Miss Malibu Tami Farrell, the runner-up to Miss California USA ,will take over Prejean's position. The Miss California USA's Web site was updated on Wednesday with a photo banner reading, "Congratulations! The New Miss California USA 2009: Tami Farrell."
The next Miss California will be determined on November 22 at a competition held in Palm Springs.
