Despite uproar in Indiana, Arkansas presses on

Maureen Groppe | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Indiana's 'freedom' law: 10 things you need to know Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which takes effect July 1, would prohibit laws that "substantially burden" a person's freedom of religion unless the government can prove a compelling interest in imposing that burden.

WASHINGTON — A "religious freedom" measure similar to Indiana's is close to becoming law in Arkansas, despite the national uproar and economic boycott Indiana faces as Gov. Mike Pence scrambles to change his state's law.

Arkansas lawmakers approved the bill Tuesday, and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson previously said he would sign the measure. The governor's office said he would not comment until Wednesday.

The head of the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said lawmakers there were not paying any attention to what's happening in Indiana.

"We have fought this battle before," Executive Director Rita Sklar said. "Indiana makes bigger headlines than Arkansas, that's all."

But in Georgia, where lawmakers are almost out of time to complete work on their version of the legislation, opponents say the events in Indiana are helping them run out the clock.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Indiana provided significant momentum for the opponents of the legislation," said Anthony Kreis, a University of Georgia constitutional scholar.

Kreis said there's a lot of talk in Georgia about avoiding "becoming the next Indiana."

"That's a phrase you hear a lot," he said.

Indiana has been in the national spotlight since Pence signed into law last week legislation saying there has to be a compelling government interest to burden someone's guarantee under the First Amendment to freely exercise their religion.

Pence has said the law was not intended to allow businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians in providing services. But some backers of the bill have said it's needed to protect businesses that don't want to provide services like photography or flowers for wedding ceremonies of same-sex couples.

The state is facing boycotts and condemnation from businesses and labor unions. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined a handful of other governors and mayors Tuesday in banning travel by public employees to Indiana unless it's related to public health and safety.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the public outcry in response to the law "is indicative of how this piece of legislation flies in the face of the kinds of values that people all across the country strongly support."

But the lasting effect on other states considering similar legislation, and on national politics — particularly the 2016 elections — remains to be seen.

"It's hit such a nerve that I think it will be part of the discussion," said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter. "But even in two months we'll probably be talking about something else. That's probably what Gov. Pence wants."

While Pence on Tuesday called on Indiana lawmakers to pass legislation clarifying that it does not allow business owners to discriminate in providing services, it's unclear how the law would be changed.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said any changes must not prevent florists, bakers or other businesses from being able to decline providing services to gay couples.

"We must ensure that religious business owners are not forced by the government to participate in a same-sex ceremony," he said in a statement.

While businesses in Indiana, Georgia and Arkansas have feared the measures are presenting an intolerant image in their states, that pressure may have been less of a factor in Arkansas, said John DiPippa, former dean of University of Arkansas, Little Rock's Bowen School of Law.

"To the extent that both Georgia and Indiana have larger populations, and Atlanta and Indianapolis are big magnets for large events, I think the business pressure is more salient there than it is in Arkansas," he said. And that's despite the fact that one of the opponents to the Arkansas measure is heavyweight Wal-Mart.

Sklar of the Arkansas ACLU said Indiana's law has received more national attention than the measure in Arkansas because Indiana is a northern state and "considered more progressive."

In Georgia, a lead advocate for a similar law there says the bill can still become law "if we stay with the facts" of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

"If (legislators) had moved quicker, we wouldn't have these other negative narratives out here running around," said Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Convention. "And we could deal with the focus on why Georgia should be excluded from all the other states around us that have (similar laws.)"

But Kreis of the University of Georgia said that as soon as the backlash in Indiana started, local businesses took that as an opportunity to speak out against Georgia's proposed legislation.

"It's plausible that it could be attached to another bill, or sneak through another avenue," he said. "But at this point, most folks think that — given what's happening in Indiana — the political will to touch it right now is not really there."

With Pence under attack, Maggie Gallagher, a prominent social conservative, called on Republicans considering running for president in 2016 to speak out.

"This is a seminal moment for GOP presidential candidates," she wrote Monday. "Will they have the courage to speak truth to power and support protections for religious people from government punishment?"

Those answering the call included former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, former Texas governor Rick Perry and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"I think Gov. Pence has done the right thing," Bush said Monday during a radio interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt.

Holly Shulman, spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said Pence's announcement Tuesday that he's trying to change the law "complicates things for nearly every potential 2016 GOP candidate." He said the candidates need to explicitly say if businesses should be allowed to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

But conservative strategist Keith Appell said there's general agreement on the issue among Republicans, as witnessed by all their statements Monday in support of Pence.

"The only people who will try to make it an issue will be the people on the left and the Democrats, not unlike they tried to make the so-called 'war on women' an issue in the last election, and that completely blew up in their faces," Appell said. "Maybe they've learned. My bet is that they'll make the same mistake again."

Gonzales said it's too soon to say whether social issues will be the defining issues of the 2016 campaign.

"Democrats would like it to be, but Democrats wanted social issues to dominate the 2014 elections," he said. "It didn't work out that way."

Contributing: Catalina Camia