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Springfield Pastor Scott Lively and supporters arrive a U.S. District Court in Springfield Monday for a hearing to dismiss a lawsuit against him brought by a group of gay Ugandan activists.

(John Suchocki / The Republican)

This is an updated version of a story posted at 2:30 this afternoon.

SPRINGFIELD – A lawsuit pitting Ugandan gay activists against local evangelist Scott Lively drew more than 150 people to U.S. District Court Monday for arguments inside and outside the courthouse.



After Judge Michael A. Ponsor spent 90 minutes questioning lawyers for both sides on Lively's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, dozens of protesters holding signs gathered on the courthouse steps to denounce the pastor just several blocks from his "Holy Grounds" coffee house on State Street.



"Lively is deadly," read one sign as speakers, including Ugandan activist Pepe Julian Onziema, who accused the Shelburne Falls native of stoking anti-gay fervor during a trip to the east African nation in 2009.



"This is the way we hold people accountable," said Onziema, a member of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the group that filed the lawsuit in March with the help of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights.



Lively, flanked by supporters, posed for the cameras outside, with one photographer telling him "I'm the guy you're trying to kill."



Lively's supporters, though outnumbered, also carried signs and engaged in mostly polite discussions with the other side.



"I don't follow Scott Lively; I follow Jesus," one woman said.



The lawsuit, filed in March, alleges that Lively's anti-gay speech to the Ugandan Parliament in 2009 contributed to violence and persecution against gays and other sexual minorities.



It accuses Lively and four Ugandans of violating international law by conspiring to deprive gays, lesbians, bisexuals and others of constitutional rights based on their sexual identity.



Lively's lawyer, Horatio G. Mihet, filed a motion to dismiss the case in June, citing the 1st Amendment's guarantee of free speech and a lack of evidence linking his client to the alleged persecution of anyone in Uganda.



With its mix of religion, sexual politics and international law, the case has won widespread media attention, from blog postings to an article last month in The New Yorker.



On Monday morning, a large crowd showed up for hearing, quickly filling the main courtroom and spilling into two others, where they watched the session on monitors.



Summing up the legal issues, Ponsor said the case invovled both Lively's free speech protection against the rights of sexual minorities to equal protection under the law.



In particular, Ponsor said he was troubled by the lack of specifics in the lawsuit linking Lively's anti-gay activities to acts of oppression against gays in Uganda.



"I'm frankly struggling to see what behavior beyond expressive behavior" of Lively violated federal law, the judge said.



The plaintiffs, the judge added, would be strengthened by a "more concrete example of, for lack of a better term, misbehavior to justify continuation of the lawsuit."



Ponsor also expressed skepticism about Lively's request to dismiss the suit before trial, noting that federal law sets a high legal threshold for throwing out cases.



The plaintiff's lawyer, Pamela Spees, said that Lively both advised and encouraged homophobic activists in Uganda to deprive sexual minorities of their rights.



"Sexual rights are human rights," Spees said.



Lively's role in promoting anti-gay legislation proposed in Uganda in 2009 amounted to a conspiracy to deny legal rights based on a person's sexual orientation, Spees said



"You have to discriminate," Spees said, paraphrasing Lively's message to Ugandans. "Discrimination on this basis is good."



Ponsor said he would rule on the motion to dismiss in the near future, but gave no date.



As he walked from court, Lively told a supporter that even if Ponsor rejects his motion to dismiss, the trial will help rally anti-gay activists to his cause.



"It will get people out of the pews," he said.