Two states at the center of gay rights protests over laws designed to 'uphold religious freedom' engaged in hurried climbdowns yesterday, with both approving alterations to legislation that critics said legalized discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 'Now that this is behind us, let's move forward together with a renewed commitment to the civility and respect that make this state great,' Indiana Governor Mike Pence said after signing his state's amended measure. The Arkansas legislature also passed changes to its legislation at the behest of the state's Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson, who rejected a previous version of the bill at the last minute on Wednesday following public uproar and a personal plea from his son. Hutchinson signed the new legislation last night. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signs a reworked religious freedom bill into law on Thursday evening. Lawmakers in Arkansas and Indiana hoped that by amending their states' measures they would quiet the national uproar over new religious objections that opponents say are designed to offer a legal defense for anti-gay discrimination . 'Now that this is behind us, let's move forward together with a renewed commitment to the civility and respect that make this state great,' Indiana Governor Mike Pence said after signing his state's amended measure Thursday evening . Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma speaks at a press conference announcing changes to the state's religious freedom law as Senate President Pro Tem David Long, left, looks on. The GOP leaders on Thursday added anti-discrimination safeguards to the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act . 'I think it’s sending the right signal, the way this has been resolved, to the world and the country that Arkansas understands the diversity of our culture and workforce but also the importance of balancing that with our sincerely held religious convictions,' Hutchinson said. The recently empowered governor also suggested he'd issue an executive order banning discrimination in the workplace for state employees, according to a CNN report. The two, GOP-controlled states were in a frenzy this week to quell national outrage over legislation meant to satisfy evangelicals who do not believe they should be compelled by the government to provide goods and services to certain customers if doing so would violate their religious convictions. The moves had the direct effect of upsetting gay and lesbian individuals, however, and incited massive protests. After gay rights activists, sympathetic businesses and celebrities thrust the measures into the national spotlight, both states found themselves in the cross-hairs, and even Republican lawmakers began to distance themselves from the laws as written. Republican leaders in the Hoosier State conceded this week to critics arguing that their state's law, signed into effect by Governor Mike Pence a week ago today, inadvertently left room for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 'It was never intended to discriminate against anyone,' Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long said at a Thursday morning at a press conference. Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, standing alongside Long, said, 'Hoosier hospitality had to be restored.' 'It is causing real harm to real people right now in our state. I'm not talking about those who feel their rights are being infringed, I'm talking about commerce in a major, major way,' Bosma said of the law Thursday . Acknowledging that the changes to the law won't necessarily satisfy religious groups, he said, 'we had to be prompt. We had to be swift.' Opponents of an Arkansas religious objection measure chant 'We Are Arkansas' as they face the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock on Wednesday. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson earlier that day said he wants the legislature to either recall the bill from his desk or pass a follow-up measure that would make the proposal more closely mirror a 1993 federal religious-freedom law . In addition to the already protected classes of persons, the new language specifies that businesses, individuals and other providers cannot refuse to do business with persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. No one has the legal right to 'refuse to offer or provide' goods, services, facilities or employment to anyone for those reasons, it says. Exempted from the new rules, however, are churches and non-profit religious organizations, including schools. After adamantly defending the state's law in the national press, Pence suddenly said Tuesday that 'it would be helpful to move legislation this week that makes it clear that this law does not give businesses a right to deny services to anyone.' The 180 earned him the mocking of the White House, which described him as a 'previously defiant governor' who changed his position after a 'bipartisan and even nonpolitical outcry.' Pence said Thursday he believed the move to change the legislation was in the best way forward for his state. 'There will be some who think this legislation goes too far and some who think it does not go far enough, but as governor I must always put the interest of our state first and ask myself every day, 'What is best for Indiana?' Pence said in a statement. 'I believe resolving this controversy and making clear that every person feels welcome and respected in our state is best for Indiana.' Demonstrators hold signs on the steps of the Arkansas state Capitol thanking Hutchinson for calling for changes to the religious freedom measure. A new version of Arkansas' law is now making its way through the statehouse. The altered bill would more closely mirror federal legislation . The new version of Arkansas' law  more closely mirrors federal legislation. The fixes passed the state's Senate Wednesday night and its House Thursday. Hutchinson on Wednesday had requested the legislative changes, saying he could not sign the bill until they were made. 'How do we as a state communicate to the world that we are respectful of a diverse workplace and we want to be known as a state that does not discriminate but understands tolerance?' he said during a press conference outside the state Capitol. 'That is the challenge we face. Making this law like the federal law will aid us in that effort in communication, but also was my original objective from the beginning.' Upon signing the bill Thursday, Hutchinson said, 'I know it's been a contentious debate.' 'We resolved it in an Arkansas way and in the right way for our country and for the people of Arkansas.' Hutchinson said he recognizes this is not the end of the debate, 'but the fact that it might not solve every problem for everyone probably means it's a good bill.' Conservative lawmakers said they didn't appreciate the slap in the face from Hutchinson, who had said numerous times in the past that he would approve the legislation in its current form when it reached his desk, but they worked to make the necessary adjustments just the same. 'I don't feel it was right for the governor to say he was going to sign something that he watched all the way through and didn't sign,' state senator Terry Rice told Arkansas Online. 'I know things come up at the last minute but now we have hodgepodged some bills together.' That sentiment was shared by Arkansas Family Council, a group that favors the law and pushed to get it passed. 'I'm very puzzled at this point to see why the bill would need to be amended at this late date, considering everybody in the chamber has had a chance to see it,' Jerry Cox, the group's leader, said. 'I think it's been thoroughly vetted, and it's a good law.' A family-owned pizzeria in Indiana that said it wouldn't cater same-sex weddings shut down until further notice on Wednesday after the owners received threatening phone calls, and the establishment's YELP page was flooded with bad reviews . Indiana, the first of the two states to pass the offending religious liberty legislation, saw a fierce backlash over the weekend and early this week that included thousands of protesters descending on the state Capitol and a prominent local business cancelling a planned $40 million expansion of its headquarters after Pence formally approved the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Hutchinson, who took office just two months ago, seeking to avoid an uprising of equal intensity in his own state, pushed legislators in Arkansas to make adjustments to their bill before he put his name on it. The Arkansas-based retail corporation Wal-Mart publicly lobbied the Republican politician not to approve the bill, labeling it as discriminatory. Meanwhile, in Indiana, a family-owned pizzeria, Memories, that said it wouldn't cater same-sex weddings shut down until further notice on Wednesday after the owners received threatening phone calls and the establishment's YELP page was flooded with bad reviews.
New Indiana law: No one has the legal right to 'refuse to offer or provide' goods, services, facilities or employment to anyone in previously protected classes or based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
'It was never intended to discriminate against anyone,' Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long said this morning at a press conference.
Arkansas legislature also passed changes to its legislation at the behest of the state's Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Altered law more closely mirror federal legislation; it passed the Senate last night and is now under consideration in the House.