LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he would sign into law a religious protection measure that opponents have said would open the door to state-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Hutchinson told reporters Thursday that he supports the latest version of a bill prohibiting state and local government from infringing upon someone’s religious beliefs without a “compelling government interest.”
The Senate could take up the legislation as soon as Thursday afternoon.
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The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights group, announced earlier it was running a newspaper ad aimed at Silicon Valley and argued that the bill hurts Hutchinson’s efforts to lure high-tech companies to Arkansas.
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