Responding to sharp criticism from local businesses and civic groups, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) announced Wednesday that he would not sign his state's new religious freedom bill, unless it is amended to reflect federal law.
The bill, which passed the GOP-controlled legislature on Tuesday,would have a negative impact on our states image," Governor Hutchinson said.
"We wanted to have it [the bill] crafted similar to what is at the federal level,"he said."To do that, though, changes need to be made. The bill that is on my desk at the present time does not precisely mirror the federal law."
His decision comesas Indiana lawmakers face a backlash over their ownversion of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which critics say permits discrimination against sexual minorities. The Arkansas measure is similar to the embattled Indiana law and, in some respects, affords even less protection against discrimination.
Prominent businesses and sports associations, such as Apple and the NCAA, put pressure on Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) to backtrack on the law. But in Arkansas, it was Wal-Mart, the states largest employer, applying most of the pressure. Its appeals appear to have paid off.
The bill "threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state," said Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon in a statement posted on Twitterurging the governor to veto the bill.
The intensity of the backlash against religious freedom laws stunned many politicians. While 20 US states have Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that are similar to the federal law, most of the criticism levied against the bills in Arkansas and Indiana focused on how they differed from the federal version.
Unlike the laws in mostother states, the Indiana law was specifically written to ensure that businesses can use it to defend themselves against civil rights lawsuits, critics say.
The Indiana law explicitly allows any for-profit business to assert a right to the free exercise of religion and to use that as a defense against a private lawsuit by another person, rather than simply against actions brought by the government. The only other RFRA that affords such protection to for-profit businesses is South Carolina. Louisiana and Pennsylvania, on the other hand, specifically exclude for-profit businesses from such protection.
Both Indiana's law and the Arkansas bill allowlarge corporations to claim that their religious faith is violated by a ruling or mandate. In other states with RFRA legislation,only individuals or family businesses can make such a claim.
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Why Arkansas governor won't sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (+video)