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 Arkansas followed Indiana, which passed a similar act last week.
They are the first to do so since same-sex marriage became legal in
many states last year. Corporations have criticized the measures.
At present 37 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia permit
gay marriage.
The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart <WMT.N>, based in
Bentonville, Ark., issued a statement saying the Arkansas bill
threatened to undermine "the spirit of inclusion" in the state and
"does not reflect the values we proudly uphold."
Signed by Doug McMillon, chief executive officer, the statement
asked Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson to veto the legislation.
Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence, responding to national
outrage over his signing of his state's law last week, vowed earlier
on Tuesday to "fix" the act so that businesses could not use the law
to deny services to same-sex couples.
COMPANIES, GOVERNORS ACT
Some of the most powerful U.S. companies, including Apple <AAPL.O>,
Angie's List, diesel engine-maker Cummins Inc <CMI.N>, Salesforce
Marketing Cloud and drug-maker Eli Lilly and Co <LLY.N>, had called
on Pence to clarify or repeal the law, which passed with an
overwhelming majority in the state's legislature.
Democratic governors, joined by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on
Tuesday, banned official state business travel to Indiana. Auto
racing company NASCAR and the Indianapolis-based NCAA, an
organization for university athletic programs, voiced concern over
the law.
At a news conference Pence said the law protected people of all
faiths from being forced by the government to go against their
beliefs. The lawyer and one-time radio talk-show host repeatedly
denied that the intent of the law was to allow discrimination.
Critics said Indiana's law as it is now written would allow
businesses to deny services such as wedding cakes or wedding music
for gay marriages on religious grounds.
Pence found support from conservatives including Republican
presidential hopeful Ted Cruz and possible presidential contenders
Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, who praised the law.
Supporters have said the acts do not allow for discrimination and
are needed to protect religious freedoms.
But critics contend they are part of a broader effort by
Republican-dominated statehouses in socially conservative states to
push back against a series of U.S. court decisions allowing same-sex
marriage.
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Pence said the law he signed last week had been unfairly "smeared"
and called on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to come up
with clarifications this week.
SUPREME COURT CASE
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide by the end of June
whether the U.S. Constitution protects a right to same-sex marriage,
and if it does not, whether states that ban it must recognize
marriages performed in states permitting such unions.
"What's happened is that with same-sex marriage on the horizon, the
individuals and the believers who do not want to support same-sex
marriage are looking to a formula in RFRAs to allow them to avoid
same-sex marriage in the market place," said Marci Hamilton, law
professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School and
an opponent of RFRAs.
Arkansas' RFRA also allows religious discrimination lawsuits between
private parties, and goes a step further in that it would bar
employees from invoking religious freedom in suing employers,
Hamilton said.
Lori Windham, senior counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, which has brought RFRA cases on behalf of people of
different faiths, said the clarification should not be necessary.
"It should already be clear that these laws require courts to
balance religious freedom against other interests. They don't mean
religion always wins, they mean that religious people have their day
in court," she said.
(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Jon
Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, Steve Barnes in Little Rock, Emily
Stephenson and Susan Heavey in Washington. and Colleen Jenkins in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Writing by Fiona Ortiz and Jon
Herskovitz; Editing by James Dalgleish and Howard Goller)
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