Arkansas, Indiana Governors Sign Updated ‘Religious Freedom’ Laws
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Photo by Andrea Morales/Getty Images(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday signed altereds version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in an effort to remove points of concern brought up by members of LGBT-rights activists.
After the initial bills passed state legislatures in recent weeks, critics decried them, saying that they allowed for discrimination against LGBT Americans. Pence had signed the initial bill into law, garnering criticism from business leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook. Hutchinson, however, called on political leaders to amend the bill to prevent discrimination before he would sign.
On Thursday afternoon, after each state’s legislature approved the updated bill, Pence and Hutchinson affixed their signatures.
The updated Arkansas bill avoids explicitly defining a “person” as a “corporation,” does not provide for preemptive lawsuits, and does not state that it would apply to private or civil disputes.
It is very similar to the 1993 federal RFRA signed into law under then-President Clinton, with the exception of a provision that exempts the Department of Corrections, the Department of Community Correction, county jails and other detention facilities.
Proud to work with the legislature to craft SB975 the Religious Freedom Restoration Act mirroring federal law. #arleg pic.twitter.com/vA05o6O5Ti
— Gov. Asa Hutchinson (@AsaHutchinson) April 2, 2015
The new Indiana law prevents businesses and individuals from refusing goods or services to individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity or other reasons. However, it still allows some denials when religious officials or groups are involved.
“The freedom of religion for every Hoosier is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and in the Indiana Constitution,” Pence said in a statement. “Over the past week,” he noted, the original law “has become a subject of great misunderstanding and controversy across our state and nation…Last weekend, I called upon the Indiana General Assembly to clarify that this new judicial standard would not create a license to discriminate or to deny services to any individual as its critics have alleged.”
“Our state is rightly celebrated for our pro-business environment, and we enjoy an international reputation for the hospitality, generosity, tolerance and kindness of our people,” Pence concluded. “Now that this is behind us, let’s move forward together with a renewed commitment to the civility and respect that make this state great.”
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