Räsäsläiset jakavat natsi-Saksan ja Putinin Venäjän uskonoppia homoudesta

A lawsuit brought by a Ugandan LGBTI group in a US court against homophobic Christian evangelist Scott Lively has remained without a verdict after a judge dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds.

Judge Michael Ponsor of the US District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, said Lively aided “a vicious and frightening campaign of repression against LGBTI people in Uganda.” However, he ruled that the case could not be tried in the US, as Lively’s actions took place entirely in a foreign territory.

Still, Judge Ponsor strongly denounced Lively’s activities: “This crackpot bigotry could be brushed aside as pathetic, except for the terrible harm it can cause. The record in this case demonstrates that the 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.”

Furthermore, the judge held that Lively’s actions violated international law:

“Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake. The question before the court is not whether Defendant’s actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBTI people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do.”

Scott Lively avoided conviction only because he managed to exploit a loophole created when G.W. Bush got Congress to pass a law to prevent American soldiers from being prosecuted for crimes committed abroad in US courts.

As for the alleged toxic homophobia in Uganda, even if true, it doesn’t erase Scott Lively’s human rights violation against LGBTI people in Uganda.

In my opinion Judge Ponsor hadn’t balls enough. He could have let the lawsuit go ahead and see where it goes. If Lively had received a verdict, he would have appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
But it could also have been a mistake because then the case would have been handled at the federal level. Perhaps too much political visibility wouldn’t have been good for his cause.

On the other hand the plaintiffs didn’t understand that technically the law brought by Bush possibly did not even protect civilians. However, plaintiffs gave up too easily or were afraid that their money would not be enough.

They should have made better contacts to the American LGBTI associations beforehand to collect money with help of American organizations for getting better legal help, that they could have even a chance in the American legal system.

I am absolutely sure that the American LGBTI people would also have gladly crucified Scott Lively through the legal system, which the son of a bitch totally deserved.