A Judge Has Denied Anti-Gay Pastor Scott Lively’s ‘Crackpot Bigotry’ to Be Stricken from a Court Record
Most people wouldn’t appeal a court decision that they won. But then, Scott Lively isn’t like most people. The raging homophobe infamous for stirring up anti-gay hatred in Uganda was sued last year for crimes against humanity. The case was dismissed, but the judge took the opportunity to make it perfectly clear that he didn’t agree with Lively, calling his views “abhorrent,” “pathetic” and “crackpot bigotry.” Lively appealed, hoping to have the judge’s remarks stricken from the record. But last week, Scott Lively lost his appeal, meaning his “crackpot bigotry” will remain part of the public record.
In 2012, Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), sued Scott Lively over his role in the anti-LGBTQ furor in that country. Though Lively’s a marginal figure at best in America, he’s a big name in Uganda. He met with Ugandan lawmakers to help draft the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014, which called for homosexuality to be punishable by life imprisonment or even death. The legislation was accompanied by a rise in violence against LGBT people.
Though the case was dismissed in 2017, Judge Michael Ponsor was very critical of Lively. You’d think Lively would be smart enough to just take the win, but no.
Lively immediately filed an appeal to strike Ponsor’s remarks from the ruling. Lively’s lawyers wrote in a statement that Ponsor “improperly littered his order with a prolonged tirade against Lively, badly distorting his Christian views and activism.”
Calling Scott Lively’s activism “crackpot bigotry” is correct. Aside from his role in stoking Ugandan homophobia, he’s co-written a book called The Pink Swastika, blaming homosexuality for Nazism. (Obviously, he’s not up on his history — Nazis were not fans of LGBTQ people by any means, including queer Nazis, who were purged in the Night of the Long Knives.)
But last week, Scott Lively lost his appeal. The court ruled that “we lack jurisdiction to entertain Lively’s request that we purge certain unflattering comments from the district court’s opinion.” So, it looks like it’ll just remain as yet another example of why Scott Lively is a loser.
