Newly-crowned Miss Missouri Is Gay

Missouri has its first openly gay Miss Missouri. Erin O'Flaherty will represent the state at the Miss America pageant.

Erin O'Flaherty, 23, was crowned Miss Missouri on Saturday in Mexico, Mo.

O'Flaherty said Wednesday that she came out as gay when she was 18 and knew going into the Miss Missouri pageant that she'd be making history if she won.

She is the first openly gay woman to hold the title, said Ann Jolly, chairman of the board of the Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization.

O'Flaherty is a clothing store owner whose pageant platform is suicide prevention.

The 2016 Miss America Pageant is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.