Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he has asked for "certain changes to be made" to a much-criticized "religious freedom" bill that critics have called anti-gay.
“We want to be a place that has the right balance between religious protections and religious freedom and non-discrimination," Hutchinson said at a press conference at the state Capitol, one day after the Republican-led legislature sent the bill to his desk.
Critics say that the bill in its current state would make it legal for businesses to discriminate against customers if they claimed a religious reason for doing so.
Hutchinson, who had previously planned on signing the measure, has now asked Arkansas lawmakers to revise the bill's language and send a new bill to his desk, though he has not said what will happen if lawmakers refuse.
Hutchinson, a Republican, said he wanted a law that mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed in 1993. That law does not provide legal cover for businesses to defend themselves against discrimination lawsuits in civil court.
Businesses and Arkansas politicians have warned Hutchinson against signing the new bill into law, and Hutchinson said that even his son had signed a petition asking him to veto the bill.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillion said the bill "threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold," in an online statement. "For these reasons, we are asking Governor Hutchinson to veto this legislation.” Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Mark Stodola, the mayor of Little Rock, the state capital, wrote to Hutchinson asking the governor to veto the bill.
"Any piece of legislation that is so divisive cannot possibly be good for the state of Arkansas and its people," Stodola wrote.
Some in Arkansas fear a backlash similar to what has happened to Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed a "religious freedom" bill into law last week.
Several other governors have banned state-funded travel to Indiana, and tech industry CEOs have lambasted Indiana's law.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is gay, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post saying these bills "rationalize injustice" and "go against the very principles our nation was founded on."
Hutchinson says he always wanted a RFRA that mirrors the federal version, and that's what he hopes to see on his desk in the future.
“I would support a RFRA that’s similar to federal law," Hutchinson said. “That is what I’ve asked for, that has been my position.”