SPRINGFIELD (AP) - A federal judge is deciding whether to dismiss a
lawsuit against a Massachusetts evangelist for what an East African gay
advocacy group claims has been his long campaign of persecution against gays in
Uganda.
The judge heard arguments Monday from lawyers for Springfield pastor Scott
Lively and from Sexual Minorities Uganda, the plaintiff behind last year's
civil action.
Lively's lawyer says the case is an attack on the U.S. Constitution and the
right of free speech.
The plaintiff's attorney says Lively conspired with others in Uganda to
persecute gays.
The arguments come as Uganda's Parliament could consider an anti-gay bill in
February.
While the bill would include jail for some offenses, the lawmaker who
authored the original bill told The Associated Press in November that it
wouldn't punish some homosexual acts with death, as the earlier legislation had
proposed.
