Friday Links: American Politics vs. Eastern European Politics

Ukraine

The new government of Ukraine has placed an arrest warrant on ousted president Viktor Yanukovych for the mass murder of many innocent civilians. On Tuesday, Parliament voted to send the former president to the International Criminal Court. Now on the run after being ousted from legislature on Saturday, he had been accused of issuing and carrying out the shooting of demonstrators in Kiev. The fall of Yanukovych worries some Ukrainian citizens as they believe that it could lead to the split of Ukraine along the fault line that divides the pro-Western and pro-Russian regions. However, both Russia and the United States have said publically that they do not wish for separatism to occur. Yanukovych has allegedly surfaced in Russia since Tuesday, claiming to still be the legitimate ruler of Ukraine. He appealed to Russian authorities with a request to guarantee his personal safety and was granted it. “We believe Russia would never intervene into Ukrainian domestic affairs and will refrain from any steps that would split Ukraine,” he told the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg. “We are committed to having Ukraine as one united country. We will punish anyone for separatism in Ukraine with all legal and constitutional means,” he added.

 

Arizona

Arizona legislature passed a bill that allows business owners, as long they are religiously active, to deny service to LGBTQIAP+ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning Intersex Asexual Pansexual Etc.) people. This is a controversial decision as it adds the same power to homophobia as was added to racism back in the 1960’s when African Americans could be denied access to “white” places of business. The difference, however, is that being a certain race or ethnicity does not go against the teachings of any religious. The current fight for homosexual equality is a battle of two aspects of the First Amendment– religious liberty and gay rights. The bill, passed by a 33-27 vote, has sparked controversy throughout Arizona as some citizens believe the bill to sanction discrimination. Although the bill was turned down by the governor of Arizona on Wednesday, this attempt at the banning of gay marriage shows the great controversy that still surrounds same-sex relationships. Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, and Ohio have all struck down homosexual marriage bans, giving progress to LGBTQIAP+ equality.