Appeals Court Allows Lawsuit Against Anti-Gay Scott Lively to Proceed

It appears as though Pastor Scott Lively, the author of the widely debunked historical tome "The Pink Swastika" which alleged that the nazi party was controlled by "masculine-oriented male homosexuals," will be making some real history of is own -- as the first American to be tried for anti-LGBT crimes against humanity for his part in influencing Uganda's notorious "Kill the Gays" law, SPLC Center reports.

On Thursday, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston denied Lively's petition to dismiss a 2012 lawsuit that alleges that he violated U.S. law by trying to influence the laws of a foreign country. The lawsuit, which was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Sexual Minorities Uganda, cited Lively's ten plus year collaboration with political and religious leaders in Uganda to persecute LGBT Ugandans and deny them their basic human rights. The case against Lively was based on the Alien Tort Statute, which grants "survivors of egregious human rights abuses, wherever committed, the right to sue the perpetrators in the United States."

With this ruling, the lawsuit will now proceed to federal court.

The Ugandan bill, as originally drafted in 2009, included life imprisonment or the death penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality." A version of the bill which called for a maximum penalty of life imprisonment was signed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and enacted into law in February.

In August, a Ugandan court invalidated the law, saying it was illegally passed and therefore unconstitutional. A new version of the law is being fast tracked through the Ugandan parliament where supporters are promising its passage as a "Christmas gift" for the nation.

LGBTQ Nation notes the lawsuit against Lively also alleges that the anti-gay pastor encouraged government backed acts of violence against LGBT Ugandan citizens as a result of anti-gay rhetoric included as part of his address to the nation's parliament in 2009.