By Ana Campoy 

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday called for changes to a religious-freedom bill passed by the state's legislature, after it sparked an outcry akin to the one that followed a similar law in Indiana from groups and companies who say it could be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican, asked lawmakers to recall the bill at a news conference Wednesday morning, saying that its language must make clear that it isn't the intent of Arkansas to discriminate.

"The issue has become divisive because our nation remains split on how to balance the diversity of our culture with the traditions and firmly held religious convictions," Mr. Hutchinson said, adding that his own son signed a petition asking the governor to veto the bill.

Mr. Hutchinson called on lawmakers to amend the current bill to mirror federal religious-liberty laws, adding that so far he hasn't gotten any commitments from them to do so.

The bill's supporters in the state House rebuffed a move by other lawmakers to amend the bill before passing it Tuesday, saying that the discrimination issue should be addressed elsewhere.

Jonathan Dismang, a Republican who serves as president pro tempore of the state Senate, said it is "premature to say that there will be an agreement," but added he is certain that none of the state's lawmakers want a bill that allows discrimination.

In Indiana, widespread criticism over the religious-freedom law, including calls for a boycott of the state, spurred GOP Gov. Mike Pence on Tuesday to call for an amendment clarifying that the law wouldn't permit businesses to deny service to gays and lesbians.

Mr. Hutchinson said he has been in touch with local corporate executives who are concerned that the current bill might be creating an erroneous impression of the state. He is planning to issue an executive order to communicate that "Arkansas wants to be a place of tolerance, a place that has the right balance between religious protection and nondiscrimination," he said.

The Arkansas bill, which protects individuals and companies from state and local laws that infringe on their religious rights, was approved by a sizable majority of legislators.

But a number of large companies--including Arkansas' largest private employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Apple Inc.--oppose it, saying it would result in discrimination. Wal-Mart Chief Executive Doug McMillon asked Gov. Hutchinson to veto the bill in a statement released Tuesday on Twitter.

The mayor of the state's capital, Little Rock, and the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, have come out against the bill as well, saying it would be bad for business.

The law is also facing backlash from some civil-rights advocates. Ernie Green and Carlotta Walls Lanier, members of the "Little Rock Nine" group that helped integrate that city's school system in the late 1950s, called the bill "dangerous and derogatory" in a statement released by Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Supporters of the bill say it is necessary to ensure that the government doesn't infringe upon citizens' religious rights, adding that its intent isn't to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

The Arkansas measure, like Indiana's law, is wider in scope than similar legislation passed in other states and at the federal level, legal experts say. That is because it broadly defines the exercise of religion as any action or refusal to act "substantially motivated by a person's sincerely held religious beliefs," regardless of whether those beliefs are central to the religion in question.

It also allows those who claim to have been grieved to sue any entity under the law, even if that entity isn't a part of government. The law doesn't apply to employees seeking to file a lawsuit against private employers or the state's corrections system.

Write to Ana Campoy at ana.campoy@wsj.com

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