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‘Justice prevailed’: Uganda court strikes down draconian anti-gay law
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/01/justice-prevailed-uganda-court-strikes-down-draconian-anti-gay-law/
‘Justice prevailed’: Uganda court strikes down draconian anti-gay law
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, August 1, 2014 8:50 EDT
Uganda’s constitutional court on Friday overturned tough new anti-gay laws that had been branded draconian by rights groups, saying they had been wrongly passed by parliament.
The law is “null and void,” the presiding judge told the court, saying the process had contravened the constitution, as it has been passed in parliament in December without the necessary quorum of lawmakers.
“Justice prevailed, we won,” said lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, who led the challenge in the constitutional court.
The law’s supporters said they would appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court.
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Ugandan lawmakers in campaign to revive gay law
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan parliamentarians are launching a campaign to revive a recently invalidated anti-gay measure and hope to have it passed within weeks, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
About 150 lawmakers have promised to vote in support of the bill when parliament emerges from a recess later this month, said parliamentarian Latif Ssebaggala, who is collecting signatures from lawmakers who support the anti-gay measure.
Ssebaggala said he was treating the anti-gay measure as a “national priority” after a Ugandan court last week declared it illegal because it was passed during a parliamentary session that lacked a quorum.
The Constitutional Court didn’t rule on the substance of the law, so lawmakers are now able to reintroduce the same legislation, which allows for jail terms of up to life for homosexual offenses. Although the law had wide support among Ugandans, activists and watchdog group called the measure draconian and said it was unnecessary in a country where homosexuality had long been banned.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/08/06/ugandan_lawmakers_in_campaign_to_revive_gay_law/
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan parliamentarians are launching a campaign to revive a recently invalidated anti-gay measure and hope to have it passed within weeks, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
About 150 lawmakers have promised to vote in support of the bill when parliament emerges from a recess later this month, said parliamentarian Latif Ssebaggala, who is collecting signatures from lawmakers who support the anti-gay measure.
Ssebaggala said he was treating the anti-gay measure as a “national priority” after a Ugandan court last week declared it illegal because it was passed during a parliamentary session that lacked a quorum.
The Constitutional Court didn’t rule on the substance of the law, so lawmakers are now able to reintroduce the same legislation, which allows for jail terms of up to life for homosexual offenses. Although the law had wide support among Ugandans, activists and watchdog group called the measure draconian and said it was unnecessary in a country where homosexuality had long been banned.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/08/06/ugandan_lawmakers_in_campaign_to_revive_gay_law/
to DonViejo from his LBN thread.