BREAKING: Arkansas governor says he won’t sign religious liberty bill, asks lawmakers to change it [View all]

[cali]

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked lawmakers to recall and change a religious liberties bill, he said Wednesday morning, a day after lawmakers in the state overwhelmingly voted to approve the controversial bill despite an uproar over a similar law in Indiana.

The bill on his desk does not mirror a federal law, Hutchinson said, which was a goal of his. As a result, he said he wants lawmakers to alter the language.

“This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial,” he said. “But these are not ordinary times.”

Hutchinson said the bill is fairly straightforward, but says the issue “has become divisive because our nation remains split over how to balance the diversity of our culture with the traditions and firmly held religious convictions.”

This division has reached his own household, Hutchinson said. He described how his son, Seth, signed a petition asking him to veto the bill, which he said highlights the generational gap that exists over the issue.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/04/01/arkansas-governor-to-discuss-religious-liberty-bill/?postshare=7981427902219398