GAY GROUP FURIOUS OVER GATELY ARTICLE RULING
A leading British gay rights group has slammed the U.K.’s media watchdog = for refusing to take action against a newspaper columnist who wrote a sca= thing article about BOYZONE star STEPHEN GATELY following his death last = October (09).
The Daily Mail’s Jan Moir caused uproar when she published an opinion p= iece the day before the Irish singer’s funeral, claiming there was "nothi= ng natural about his death." She went on to allege the circumstances of his passing ruined the "happ= y ever after myth" of gay marriages.
The article prompted a record 25,000 people to contact Britain’s Press = Complaints Commission, but following an investigation, executives decided= not to uphold a complaint against Moir and the publication on Wednesday = (18Feb10) over fears it would lead to "a slide towards censorship" in the= British press.
And gay rights advocates Stonewall are furious - branding the decision = a "sad outcome".
The group said in a statement, "(It’s a) sad outcome. Jan Moir’s articl= e on the tragic death of Stephen Gately was deeply offensive, deliberatel= y timed to coincide with Stephen’s funeral.
"Not only did Stephen’s partner find the article incredibly distressing= , but a record number of people were moved to complain too, some 25,000. = Stonewall would hesitate to send any lesbian or gay person towards the PC= C with any confidence they would uphold their complaint.
"If Jan Moir had made similar comments about a black or Jewish person, = and disparaged their race and community, the PCC would have ruled against= her. She may well have been arrested and charged with inciting racial ha= tred. Why is the PCC adopting double standards on homophobia?" Gately passed away at his home in Majorca, Spain from a build-up of flu= id in his lungs. A coroner ruled he died from natural causes.
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