[JURIST] Ugandan Attorney General Peter Nyomb on Saturday filed an appeal against the recent constitutional court ruling that struck down the nation’s Anti-Homosexuality law [text, PDF]. Last week Uganda’s Constitutional Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the Anti-Homosexuality law should be voided because it did not properly pass through Parliament. Gay rights supporters organized on Saturday to speak out against the law and urge the decision to be upheld on appeal.

The controversial law has garnered international criticism, with many viewing it as a reaction to major legislative reforms in support of same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] in the US and other Western nations. In 2012 a Ugandan religious leader bolstered [JURIST report] the law when it was still a bill. In February of that year Ugandan MP David Bahati announced that clauses mandating the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” would be dropped [JURIST report] from the bill. In 2010 US President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined the US Congress in denouncing the bill [JURIST report]. Roughly two-thirds [BBC report, map] of African nations criminalize homosexuality, according to an Amnesty International report published earlier this year.