Judge Dismisses Homosexual Activists' 'Crimes Against Humanity' Suit Against Pastor

[qy]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A federal judge has dismissed an
international lawsuit filed by an African homosexual activist
group, which accused an American pastor of committing “crimes
against humanity” for speaking out against homosexual behavior
in the country.

U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor, appointed to the bench by
then-President Bill Clinton, issued an order on Monday declaring
that the matter lacked the jurisdiction of a U.S. court.

Throughout his conclusion, however, he repeatedly blasted Scott
Lively, author of “The Pink Swastika,” as aiding and abetting “a
vicious and frightening campaign of repression” against
homosexuals, and characterized his writings as “crackpot
bigotry.”

Lively denies the allegation as being without substantiation and
as giving “the left fodder for propaganda.”

“[D]iscovery confirmed the nature of Defendant’s, on one hand,
vicious and, on the other hand, ludicrously extreme animus
against LGBTI people and his determination to assist in
persecuting them wherever they are, including Uganda,” Ponsor
wrote.

“The evidence of record demonstrates that Defendant aided and
abetted efforts 1) to restrict freedom of expression by members
of the LGBTI community in Uganda 2) to suppress their civil
rights, and 3) to make the very existence of LGBTI people in
Uganda a crime,” he asserted.

As previously reported, Lively had visited the nation of Uganda
in 2009, where he spoke on what the Bible says about
homosexuality and expressed support of pastors in the country
who were working to oppose the proliferation of sexual activity
between those of the same sex.

In 2012, the group Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), filed a
lawsuit against Lively, asserting that he had violated
international law because his words allegedly encouraged
government persecution against homosexuals in the nation and
created a “climate of hate.” The group also alleged that Lively
was a part of a “conspiracy” to deprive homosexuals of their
rights.

“U.S. evangelical leaders like Scott Lively have actively and
intensively worked to eradicate any trace of LGBT advocacy and
identity,” said Executive Director Frank Mugisha. “His influence
has been incredibly harmful and destructive for LGBT Ugandans
fighting for their rights. We have to stop people like Scott
Lively from helping to codify and give legal cover to hatred.”

The group claimed that because Lively had spoken at a conference
in Uganda just over a month before lawmakers proposed a bill to
criminalize homosexual behavior in the country, he was partly
responsible for influencing the government.

The most controversial aspect of the legislation required life
imprisonment for those who engage in “aggravated homosexuality,”
meaning those who intentionally spread the HIV virus, commit
homosexual pedophilia, or repeatedly engage in sex acts with
those of the same gender.

The bill was signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni in
2012, but later struck down by Uganda’s Constitutional Court.

SMUG noted in its lawsuit that Lively had distanced himself from
the bill’s proposed death penalty, but claimed he only did so
“half-heartedly.”

He was sued under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which allows
individuals from foreign nations to file federal complaints
against U.S. citizens who have committed torts overseas.

“That’s about as ridiculous as it gets,” Lively told the New
York Times in 2013. “I’ve never done anything in Uganda except
preach the gospel and speak my opinion about the homosexual
issue.”

Last year, attorneys for Lively filed for summary judgment in
seeking dismissal of the legal challenge, and the request was
granted this week, but only due to a lack of jurisdiction and
not on the merits of the case.

SMUG therefore considered Monday’s ruling a victory despite the
dismissal because of Ponsor’s conclusion that Lively had
encouraged persecution of homosexuals.

“The court’s ruling recognized the dangers resulting from the
hatred that Scott Lively and other extremist Christians from the
U.S. have exported to my country,” Mugisha said. “By having a
court recognize that persecution of LGBTI people amounts to a
crime against humanity, we have already been able to hold Lively
to account and reduce his dangerous influence in Uganda.”

Lively, while denying any promotion of hatred or harm against
homosexuals, expressed satisfaction that the case is now closed.

“I thank God for His deliverance from this outrageous and
malicious litigation, designed solely to silence my voice for
Biblical truth on LGBT issues and to cause me pain and suffering
for daring to speak against the ‘gay’ agenda,” he wrote in a
statement.

“What I did was tell the documented truth about the history and
tactics of the ‘gay’ political movement, and urge a
compassionate Biblical response, emphasizing rehabilitation and
prevention for LGBT sufferers,” Lively continued. “That is all I
have ever done in almost 30 years as a missionary to the global
pro-family movement.”

“No hatred. No advocacy of violence. No invasions of personal
privacy. Just an insistence that homosexuality be denied
normalization in the mainstream of society in favor of the
natural family.”

https://christiannews.net/2017/06/07/judge-dismisses-homosexual-
activists-crimes-against-humanity-suit-against-pastor/