Bigot Of The Year?

International News, By Joal, 6th November, 2009

Controversial British newspaper columnist Jan Moir is in the running for an award – Stonewall Bigot of the Year.

While invited to attend last night’s Stonewall Awards, it’s yet to be confirmed whether Moir was there for the ceremony.

The UK Press Complaints Commission (PCC) received 21,000 complaints concerning Moir’s column regarding the death of Boyzone star Stephen Gately. Calling Gately’s death ‘sleazy’ and ‘unnatural’ in the column, The Stonewall Foundation thought Moir an ideal candidate to single-out for homophobic and demeaning behaviour.

“Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages…” wrote Moir. “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.”

PinkNews reports that Moir’s fellow nominees include: Dr Sheila Matthews, a doctor who refused to approve gay couples to adopt, Father John Owen, who claimed most paedophiles were gay men, Fred Phelps and Shirley Roper-Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Chuch, who picket AIDS victims funerals with ‘God Hates Fags’ placards, DJ Spoony, who said that attractive women should be “saved” for straight men, and the Bishop of Winchester, who told the House of Lords in July that homosexuality was a personal choice.

While Moir’s nomination was a late inclusion, organisers say the columnist was added to the illustrious after an overwhelming number of the charity’s supporters put her name forward.

Fingers-crossed, Jan.