WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday pressed Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to veto a religious-objections bill in her former home state, warning it would allow "unfair discrimination" against gays.
Clinton offered her views on Twitter shortly before Hutchinson urged the Arkansas Legislature to either recall the bill or make changes to more closely resemble a 1993 federal religious-freedom law signed by former President Bill Clinton. Hutchinson had previously said he would sign the Arkansas bill.
Hillary Clinton, regarded as the leading Democratic presidential contender, said on Twitter that like a similar Indiana law, the Arkansas bill "goes beyond protecting religion" and "would permit unfair discrimination" against gay Americans.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, defending his state's law Tuesday, pointed to the 1993 federal law that he said served as the basis for his state's law. Democrats have pushed back against Pence's interpretation, saying the state law is much broader than the 1993 federal law.
Clinton has increasingly turned to Twitter to weigh in on hot political issues, generally criticizing Republicans' actions. Last week, she wrote she was "sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today."
Clinton also has personal ties to Arkansas, where Bill Clinton was governor for more than a decade.
Hutchinson, who took office earlier this year but has been in a fixture in Arkansas politics for decades, was a longtime thorn in the Clintons' side. He prosecuted Bill Clinton's brother on drug charges in the 1980s and was one of the 13 managers of the Senate's 1999 impeachment trial of Clinton when he was president.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
A Section on 04/02/2015
Like IN law, AR bill goes beyond protecting religion, would permit unfair discrimination against #LGBT Americans. I urge Governor to veto.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 1, 2015