Jan Moir should be sacked for her homophobic comments in the Daily Mail

I am signing this petition to get Jan Moir sacked due to an article that appeared in the Daily Mail on the 15th October 2009, simultaneously online, updated online 16/10/09.
Original headline "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death. "
Updated headline [but not copy]"A strange, lonely and troubling death . . ."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html#ixzz0U7KpyhMy

I am disturbed and appalled by Jan Moirs views of homoseuality, and even more disturbed that they are allowed to be printed and re-distributed online so publicly, and by a national news provider. I feel the piece breaches sections 1, 5 and 12 of the PCC code of practice:

1: Accuracy

i) Inaccurate: contradicts the coroners scientific, recorded, legal verdict. Misleading, as it suggest a defect in his lifestyle, expicit references to Stephens sexuality as a pre-cursor and determinent factor in his untimely death.
"All the official reports point to a natural death, with no suspicious circumstances. The Gately family are - perhaps understandably - keen to register their boy's demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident.
Even before the post-mortem and toxicology reports were released by the Spanish authorities, the Gatelys' lawyer reiterated that they believed his sudden death was due to natural causes.
But, hang on a minute. Something is terribly wrong with the way this incident has been shaped and spun into nothing more than an unfortunate mishap on a holiday weekend, like a broken teacup in the rented cottage."

Also stating "Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again." well, yes they can and do actually, because I personally know of one man (one in his 20s) who died in precisely this way.
According to the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (c-r-y.org.uk), "Twelve apparently fit and healthy young people die in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions" every single week.
"The sugar coating on this fatality is so saccharine-thick that it obscures whatever bitter truth lies beneath. Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again. "

ii) Although significant outrage and scant support Jan Moir hasn't apologised, the title was merely changed from "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death." to "A strange, lonely and troubling death . . .", without changing the copy at all. So the content, and intention stayed.
"And I think if we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy. "

iii) At no point did Jan Moir distinguish this as soley her opinion,(Apart form maybe, in the last quote!!) since she disregards the coroners verdict, the mothers plea, and hundreds of readers comments. [although the latter were obviously added after publication]

iv) The defamation of a recently deceased person is dispicable and unfair, no due challenge can come from the named subject, Stephen Gately. Unfair indeed.
"For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see. "

5: Intrusion into grief or shock

i) "In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and approaches must be made with sympathy and discretion and publication handled sensitively."
Jan Moir denegrated Stephens "apparently wholesome - too good to be true" [para-phrasing] lifestyle,a nd besmirched it solely because he was gay, and that, it would seem is enough to slander him.
She challenged not only the legal findings of the coroner, but the verification of Stephens mothers statement, who is on record as saying that there is a history of heart complaints/deaths on Stephens fathers side of the family. Jan refutes and belittles this. Incredibly insensitive.
"Nevertheless, his mother is still insisting that her son died from a previously undetected heart condition that has plagued the family"
.


12: Discrimination

i) Expicit references to Stephens sexuality, a homosexual male, as a pre-cursor and determinent factor in his untimely death.
ALSO;
to elude to homosexuals not being able to have lasting unions, and are as such undeserving of "marriage" as an option because of TWO deaths of homosexuals that were in civil unionships at some point in their lives is ridiculous, inflammatory and denigrating to homosexuals seeking to advance the equality movement, and attain marriage as a right for ALL.
"Another real sadness about Gately's death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.

Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages. Not everyone, they say, is like George Michael.

Of course, in many cases this may be true. Yet the recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately's last night raise troubling questions about what happened."


I'm disgusted and appalled at this text appearing to slander a recently deceased gay man; especially in regards to the news of this week*; this "article" condemns the homosexual lifestyle, and promotes homophobic perceptions of gay men.