Denver mayor bans city-funded travel to Indiana

a religious-freedom law that critics say allows discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Hancock announced the ban Tuesday, saying Indiana's law is wrong and Denver will not condone discrimination through the use of taxpayer dollars. Hancock says the new law should be repealed because it creates unnecessary and unwarranted divisiveness.

Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act gives heightened protections to businesses and individuals who object on religious grounds to providing certain services. It drew fire from gay rights supporters and some businesses and states.

Arkansas legislators sent a similar bill to Gov. Asa Hutchinson this week. On Wednesday, he asked lawmakers to change the bill's language to be more like a federal law passed in 1993.