Religious opt-out a step closer

Legislation known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act moved a step closer to becoming law Monday even as opponents continued to apply pressure from both inside and outside the state for Gov. Asa Hutchinson to veto House Bill 1228.

Amendments to the bill added in the Senate were concurred with Monday morning in a sometimes raucous meeting of House Judiciary Committee, which voted 11-5 to send the amended version of the bill to the House. The lower chamber likely will take up the amendments today.

Under committee rules, discussion was supposed to be limited to the amendments and not get into the bill's substance, but the chairman, state Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, allowed more latitude in committee members' questions.

But he also allowed no one from the audience to testify for or against the bill, noting that the committee had to complete all of its business in less than an hour. It also had other Senate amendments on other bills that it had to consider.

Its advancement came as critics packed the committee room and spilled out into the hallway, a crowd that state Capitol police said swelled later in the day to between 500 and 600 people.

Outside the hearing room, opponents chanted "Shame on you" as the committee members filed out after Monday's vote.

Opponents briefly rallied on the Capitol steps before lining the steps leading to the entrance to the House chambers on the building's third floor. They held signs and cheered periodically whenever a lawmaker opposed to the bill climbed the steps.

If approved, Arkansas wouldn't be allowed to "substantially burden a person's right to exercise of religion" unless doing so is necessary "to further a compelling state interest."

Even in those cases, the state restriction would be allowed only if it is "the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest." Those with no "sincerely held" religious objections would still be required to follow the government mandate.

People who successfully challenge a law on religious grounds could obtain "appropriate relief," including damages, court costs and attorneys' fees. The bill would exempt jails, prisons, the state Department of Correction and the state Department of Community Correction.

Critics say the bill would allow businesses to discriminate against gays and others.

"Is this a new form of discrimination?" state Rep. Eddie Armstrong, D-North Little Rock, asked the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville.

"No," responded Ballinger, which elicited laughter from the bill's opponents, prompting Shepherd to call for order.

Hutchinson on Monday reaffirmed that he would sign the bill and cited the new amendments as proof of lawmakers' good intentions.

"I have said if this bill reaches my desk in similar form as to what has been passed in 20 other states then I will sign it, but I am pleased that the legislature is continuing to look at ways to assure balance and fairness in the legislation," the governor said in a prepared statement.

Outside the Capitol, opponents continued to predict its passage would be bad for Arkansas. Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, took to the pages of the Washington Post, saying that a bill enacted in Indiana "and one passed in Arkansas" would "allow people to discriminate against their neighbors."

"From North Carolina to Nevada, these bills under consideration truly will hurt jobs, growth and the economic vibrancy of parts of the country where a 21st-century economy was once welcomed with open arms," he wrote.

The top two executives at Acxiom, one of the state's largest tech employers, also urged the governor to veto the bill in an open letter dated Monday.

"We are not alone in the belief that the bill is a deliberate vehicle for enabling discrimination against the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] community and should not become law, as it effectively re-establishes that shameful period before Civil Rights, when some used religious beliefs as a thinly-veiled justification for discrimination against our citizens," stated the letter, signed by Scott Howe, the company's president and chief executive officer, and Jerry C. Jones, its executive vice president and chief legal officer. "Simply stated, this bill inflicts pain on some of our citizens and disgrace upon us all."

The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, which bills itself as the leading voice of the state's business community, has no position on the bill.

Noting that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has faced withering criticism for signing a similar bill, a gay-equality group, The Human Rights Campaign, warned in a statement that "Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson could be the next in line to embarrass his state if he does not veto H.B. 1228."

The legislation's roots are in the Religious Freedom Restoration Rights Act of 1993, signed into law by former President Bill Clinton. Several other states quickly adopted similar state laws after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal law didn't apply to the states. They included Illinois. President Barack Obama, then an Illinois state senator, voted for the bill.

HB1228's sponsor, Ballinger, cited the president's vote in testimony Monday.

But critics say the latest wave of similar legislation coincides with state court decisions upholding the rights of gays to marry. And many of the early states that passed the religious freedom legislation did so with gays considered a protected class under their civil-rights statutes, which isn't the case in Arkansas.

Asked whether he would be open to legislation making homosexuals a protected class under the state's civil-rights laws to allay criticism of his bill, Ballinger responded in an email: "That debate needs to happen."

In testimony before the committee Monday, Ballinger said the outcry over the bill has been overblown.

"We've had vigorous debate about this bill, a lot of discussion in here," he said. "It's been honestly [more] than what was merited."

The three Senate amendments, which were considered jointly, centered largely on tying the bill to the federal legislation and listed other states that have passed similar laws.

"The three amendments that we have is to just make it more clear what this bill is about," he said.

Rep. David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, the House minority whip, asked Ballinger to put language in the bill saying the legislation specifically had no discriminatory intent.

But Ballinger said such language went too far. "You can discriminate when you select a hamburger instead of a pizza," he said.

Armstrong, the House minority leader, said that if the bill became law, he saw the state "veering back to just a short 50 years when my mother and ancestors were prevented from voting ... Some of this was based on religion. Why bring this now?"

Ballinger responded that he envisioned "very little happening" in that regard with passage of the bill. He said he agreed with others, such as former President Bill Clinton, when he signed the federal bill into law. "That's why I'm bringing this bill."

Rep. Camille Bennett, D-Lonoke, said she highlighted the differences with a yellow marker between the federal legislation and HB1228. "I think we're going well beyond other states."

"Every bit of the language is consistent" with the federal law and laws in other states," Ballinger said. "Everyone of the amendments clarified what our intent was."

Rep. Sue Scott of Rogers was the only Republican on the committee who voted against the bill.

"I believe, as a Christian, it's my job to love all people," Scott said afterward. "If I were to have a grandchild come to my front door tomorrow [and say they were gay], I would give that grandchild a great old big hug and my love for that child would not change. ... It's not my lifestyle choice, but it is not my lifestyle choice to condemn those who are [gay]. God blessed us all."

Fellow Republican and former state police commander Rep. Dwight Tosh of Jonesboro said he didn't see this bill as discriminatory.

"I personally don't think there should be a law that forces people to do something that is in contradiction with their religious beliefs," Tosh said. "This bill does exactly what is says: It protects beliefs of all individuals."

Tosh said he isn't worried about an influx of frivolous lawsuits filed by people who want to avoid obeying the law.

"If there's one thing I've learned [at the Capitol], it's if we fail to pass laws based on the possibility of a potential lawsuit, then we'd probably never pass laws. ... I have to do what I feel is right."

One of the demonstrators, Willow Wheeler, said it was terrifying to think what would happen if HB1228 passes, and pleaded that Gov. Asa Hutchinson "do the right thing" and veto the bill.

"It basically gives carte blanche to discriminate," said Wheeler. "I've had doctors in the state refuse to treat me as a trans woman. This bill would give them a stronger legal avenue to use against me."

Metro on 03/31/2015