The New Hampshire House on Wednesday voted down a bill which would have permitted wedding providers to refuse gay and lesbian couples.

Lawmakers overwhelming rejected the bill with a 246-85 vote, the AP reported.

The measure sought to allow business owners to withhold wedding-related goods and services if they believe it would violate their conscience or religious faith. While the bill does not specifically list gay couples, a January hearing on the bill made it clear they were being targeted.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jerry Bergevin, a Republican from Manchester, has previously said that his bill “would hardly have any effect on same-sex marriage in New Hampshire, as there are many businesses in New Hampshire.”

Bergevin has also filed bills which would mandate Bible study and require evolution be taught as a theory.

Opponents of the measure have called it “codified discrimination.”

The state's two-year-old gay marriage law has come under frequent attack since Republicans regained control of both houses of the legislature in 2010.

A vote on a bill which would repeal the marriage law is expected to take place possibly as early as next week.