The lower house of Oklahoma's Legislature passed legislation that shields ministers who refuse to officiate same-sex marriage ceremonies from civil liability.

The Associated Press reported if the state Senate approves House Bill 1007, the new law would grant licensed ministers immunity from any civil claim that stems from their refusal to recognize a marriage they say violates their "conscience or religious beliefs."

Gay-rights groups claim its language is discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They plan to mount a legal challenge to the proposed measure if it became law, according to the Guardian.

Critics charge that federal law already protects ministers from having to solemnize same-sex unions, and that no official from any denomination has ever been forced to marry same-sex couples or recognize same-sex marriages, LGBTQ Nation noted.

But the bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. David Brumbaugh, disagrees, according to Reuters.

"It's not about discrimination or anything like that, it's just that we want to make sure they were protected," Brumbaugh said.

His bill is one of several proposals before the legislature that Republicans say are aimed at protecting the interests of people who object to the lifting of the gay marriage ban. Many pastors asked for this kind of legislation after a federal judge overturned Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage in January 2014, Brumbaugh said.

Same-sex couples have been able to wed in the state since October 2014, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review lower court rulings on the issue. But the issue remains highly controversial in the Sooner State, according to the Tulsa World.

Last year, a poll showed that two in three Oklahomans continued to disapprove of same-sex marriage, with 58.1 percent of those surveyed saying they were "strongly opposed." Only 15.5 percent voiced strong approval for same-sex couples' right to marry.

Many residents in the Bible Belt state cited religious reasons as the basis of their views.

"I'm a Christian and I believe what the Bible says," said Susan Harrison of Sallisaw, a city in eastern Oklahoma. "And it says (same-sex marriage is) an abomination."

Related