The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would protect lawyers who have sincerely held religious beliefs from losing their law licenses based on any rule or policy by the State Bar of Texas.

Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, has said that one reason he carried the legislation was because of a model rule by the American Bar Association that would prohibit attorneys from discriminating against LGBTQ people, according to the Dallas Morning News. The State Bar of Texas has not adopted the ABA’s proposed LGBTQ anti-discrimination rule, but the new law would protect attorneys from potential sanctions.

...During debate on the bill, Perry said he didn’t mean for the legislation to target any group, but rather to protect licensed professionals from losing their license because of their religion, reported the Dallas Morning News.

However, critics of the bill have said it’s an attempt to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people. The Senate voted against one amendment to the bill that would have made LGBTQ discrimination impermissible.