Ugandan Gay Rights Group Sues American Activist in U.S. Court

On Wednesday, a Ugandan LGBTI rights group, represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a lawsuit under the Alien Tort Statute in a U.S. federal district court in Massachusetts against Massachusetts resident Scott Lively, founder of Abiding Truth Ministries. The complaint (full text) in Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively, (D MA, filed 3/14/2012), alleges that Lively, along with counterparts in Uganda, has waged a decades-long campaign to persecute persons in Uganda on the basis of their gender and/or sexual orientation and gender identity. (See prior related posting.)The complaint claims:

In large part due to defendant Lively's contributions to the conspiracy to persecute LGBTI person in Uganda, plaintiff ... as well as its individual staff-members ... have suffered severe deprivations of fundamental rights. Their very existence has been demonized through a coordinated campaign ... to attribute to the "genocidal" "gay movement" an irrepressible predilection to commit rape and child sexual abuse.... [T]hey have endured severe discrimination in virtually every meaningful aspect of their civil and political lives; their association has been criminalized; their advocacy on issues central to their health and political participation has been suppressed and punished; and they have been subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. As a result, ... [they] live in persistent fear of harassment, arbitrary arrest and physical harm, including death.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, a declaratory judgment that Lively's conduct violated the law of nations, and other appropriate relief. The New York Times, Religion Dispatches,