Indiana's governor said Tuesday that he wants legislation on his desk by the end of the week to clarify that a new religious-freedom law does not allow discrimination.
Gov. Mike Pence said he has been meeting with lawmakers "around the clock" to address concerns that the law will allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians.
The law has triggered an outcry, with businesses and organizations including Apple voicing concern and some states barring government-funded travel to the Midwestern state.
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Gay-rights groups say the law is a way for lawmakers to grant a state-sanctioned waiver for discrimination. Supporters contend discrimination claims are overblown and insist the law will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds.
The debate comes as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider whether gay marriage should be legalized nationwide. Thirty-seven of the 50 states allow same-sex marriages, a number that has quadrupled in the last two years amid a flurry of legal rulings. The changing landscape has triggered a backlash and a debate over whether businesses such as florists and bakeries should be compelled to service gay weddings if they oppose them on religious grounds.
'Perception problem'
A crowd of at least 2,000 people, including Democratic elected officials, rallied outside the Indiana Statehouse against the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Law. (Rick Callahan/Associated Press)
Pence acknowledged that Indiana has a "perception problem" over the law but defended it as a vehicle to protect religious liberty.
"I don't believe for a minute that it was the intent of the General Assembly to create a license to discriminate," he said.
But, Pence said, he "can appreciate that that's become the perception, not just here in Indiana but all across the country. We need to confront that."
The law signed by Pence last week prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.
On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star newspaper urged Indiana lawmakers in a front-page editorial to respond to widespread criticism of a new law by protecting the rights of gays and lesbians.
Arkansas could pass law
Meanwhile, Arkansas was poised to follow Indiana in enacting a law despite increasing criticism from businesses and gay-rights advocates who call the laws a license to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
The Arkansas House could vote as early as Tuesday on a proposal that would prohibit state and local governments from infringing on a person's religious beliefs without a "compelling" reason. And unlike in Indiana — where Republicans were figuring out how to clarify that their law isn't meant to discriminate — Arkansas lawmakers said they won't modify their measure.
Similar proposals have been introduced in more than a dozen states. Nineteen other states have similar laws on the books.
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