Scott Lively Celebrates After Judge Condemns His 'Crackpot Bigotry'
A judge dismissed a case against evangelical Scott Lively on a jurisdictional issue but condemned his anti-gay activities in Uganda. Lively tells The Daily Beast he’s ‘delighted.’
TIM TEEMAN
06.06.17 6:45 PM ET
The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts may have dismissed a case bought by a Ugandan LGBT rights group against evangelical minister Scott Lively for “crimes against humanity,” but the judge in the case made it forcefully clear that this was down to a matter of jurisdiction--not because the court sided with Lively, his words and deeds.
In his ruling, Judge Michael Ponsor issued a strongly worded denunciation of Lively’s “crackpot bigotry,” his conspiracy to persecute LGBTI people in Uganda, and the “terrible harm” he has done. Lively had also violated international law, Judge Ponsor said.
“Defendant Scott Lively is an American citizen who has aided and abetted a vicious and frightening campaign of repression against LGBTI persons in Uganda,” Judge Ponsor ruled.
Ponsor added, “Lively’s crackpot bigotry could be brushed aside as pathetic, except for the terrible harm it can cause. The record in this case demonstrates that Defendant has worked with elements in Uganda who share some of his views to try to repress freedom of expression by LGBTI people in Uganda, deprive them of the protection of the law, and render their very existence illegal.”
The evidence, said Judge Ponsor, “confirmed the nature of Defendant's, on the 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. The evidence of record demonstrates that Defendant aided and abetted efforts (1) to restrict freedom of expression by members of the LBGTI community in Uganda, (2) to suppress their civil rights, and (3) to make the very existence of LGBTI people in Uganda a crime.”
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/scott-lively-celebrates-as-judge-blasts-his-crackpot-bigotry