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 The state's Senate took up the challenge late on Wednesday,
sending to the House of Representatives legislation that would bring
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into line with federal
statutes. A House panel is due to take up that law on Thursday.
Indiana's governor a day earlier said lawmakers should fix a similar
RFRA. After it was enacted last week, the state was hit with
protests, threatened boycotts and warnings from powerful U.S. firms
of pending economic damage for being seen as standing against U.S.
ideals of inclusion.
In a news conference at the Capitol in Little Rock, Hutchinson, who
previously said he would sign the bill, said he was sending the act
back to the Republican-controlled legislature to be rewritten so it
can better balance tolerance for diversity and protections of
religious freedom.
"We want to be known as a state that does not discriminate, but
understands tolerance," Hutchinson said. "We just didn't get it
perfect through that legislative process."
The governor said his own son had asked him to veto it, adding a
personal element to the pressure to reject the bill. While
Hutchinson spoke, scores of protesters outside waved the rainbow
flag of the gay rights movement.
Hutchinson, who is 64, recognized a generational divide over
same-sex marriage.
"The issue has become divisive, because our nation remains split on
how to balance the diversity of our culture with the traditions and
firmly held religious convictions. It has divided families and there
is clearly a generational gap on this issue."
A day earlier, Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, called on
Hutchinson to veto the bill. On Wednesday, it commended his decision
and, in a Twitter post, urged lawmakers to "make certain any
legislation does not encourage discrimination."
About 40 technology industry leaders, including the CEOs of Yelp
<YELP.N>, Twitter <TWTR.N>, AirBnB, Cisco Systems <CSCO.O> and
PayPal, joined the debate with a statement calling on state
lawmakers to approve civil rights protections for members of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
In Indiana, Republican lawmakers met LGBT leaders to see how they
could modify the new law to protect their community from potential
discrimination. The rewritten law could be ready as early as
Thursday, said Tory Flynn, spokeswoman for Indiana House Speaker
Brian Bosma.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Twenty U.S. states and the federal government have RFRAs, which
allow individuals to sue the government if they believe their First
Amendment religious rights have been violated.
But those in Indiana and Arkansas go further than all but one of the
state laws, allowing lawsuits between private parties. That raised
the possibility that businesses such as florists could use the law
as a defense if they are sued for refusing to provide services for
same-sex weddings.
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Texas is the only other state with a similar provision but its law
contains language that it cannot be used to undermine civil rights,
legal experts said.
Hutchinson said he was asking lawmakers to bring the Arkansas RFRA
in line with the federal one, which does not include the language on
lawsuits between private parties.
"If we fix it now, it is probably a week's worth of repairs to
Arkansas' image. If we don't, it is a black eye that is going to be
a long time healing, if ever," said Randy Zook, president and CEO of
the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.
Critics see the crafting of the bills in Arkansas and Indiana as a
push-back against the expansion of gay-marriage acts to most states
last year.
Supporters of the Indiana and Arkansas bills argue that courts
hearing religious freedom cases will ensure a balance is struck
between religious freedom and anti-discrimination.
Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, which supported
the state's bill, said he was disappointed.
"I fail to see why the bill needs to be amended. It's been
thoroughly vetted," he said.
While Wal-Mart has pushed for a veto, Jim Walton, one of the world's
wealthiest people and a member of the Walton family who own most of
Wal-Mart's stock, have made contributions to the Council, public
records show.
According to the National Institute on Money in State Politics,
Walton family members have contributed $12,000 to Hutchinson and
$75,000 to the Council since 2004.
(Additional reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis, Suzannah
Gonzales in Chicago and Lawrence Hurley in Washington, D.C.; Writing
by Fiona Ortiz and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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