Lawmakers in Arkansas passed a "religious freedom" bill on Tuesday similar to Indiana's much-criticized new law, moving it one step closer to becoming law. Both pieces of legislation are part of a wave of bills and laws across the United States that critics say would allow discrimination against the LGBT community.

Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is rooted in the federal law of the same name, which passed in 1993. Versions of that law have now been adopted in 20 states, but Indiana's, which caused a firestorm of boycotts and criticism, has a few key bits of language that separate it from the rest. Arkansas' proposed legislation is similar.

As The Atlantic put it, Indiana's law is the first law written in such a way that it could be used "as a means of excluding gays and same-sex couples from accessing employment, housing, and public accommodations on the same terms as other people."

Thousands of opponents of Indiana Senate Bill 101, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, gathered on the lawn of the Indiana State House to rally against that legislation on March 28. Image: Doug McSchooler/Associated Press

The law, which will go into effect on July 1, could be used to protect businesses that get sued for refusing service on religious grounds.

Most RFRA laws don't do that, though there are a few exceptions. Texas' "religious freedom" law is similar to Indiana's because it also appears to provide legal cover for businesses to use religion as a basis for discrimination. South Carolina's law is more vague, but like Indiana's, it allows businesses to "freely exercise" religion.

But that's as close as it gets for laws already on the books. That said, many bills making their way through state legislatures around the U.S. are much more similar to Indiana's new law than they are to the original RFRA.

The bill in Arkansas "allows any person to claim religious belief as their grounds for discriminatory acts," according to the Human Rights Campaign, America's largest advocacy organization for LGBT civil rights.

For his part, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the bill simply "tries to maintain the balance of religious freedoms." Hutchinson had previously seemed wary that the bill could spark a backlash against Arkansas similar to what Indiana has seen, but he seemed intent on signing it anyway.

Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, speaks at a press conference on March 26 in the Rotunda of the Capitol of the State of Arkansas, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Image: AP Images for Human Rights Campaign Phillip Parker

Lawmakers in Georgia, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Texas and other states have introduced similar bills that would allow businesses to use religion as an excuse for discrimination against people who are gay or transgender.

In Alabama and Florida, legislators are pushing bills that would let adoption agencies refuse gay couples because of their sexual orientation.

And a wave of bills criticized as anti-transgender have hit legislatures, too. Massachusetts, Florida, Texas and other states have bills pending that would make it illegal for transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.

These legal items are part of the 85 bills introduced in 28 states this year that Human Rights Campaign has called anti-gay. That many bills, according to the group, is a record.

It's impossible to tell whether critics will lambast other bills the same way they have torn into Indiana's new law, but similar laws in other states have passed under the radar in before. As The Washington Post points out, many of those laws were solidified before the majority of Americans approved of gay marriage.