The bill is expected to head soon to the Texas House after winning preliminary approval in the Senate 21-10.

"If we don't do this, we are discriminating against people of faith," said Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell who sponsored the bill.  

The move comes nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage, but that's because the Texas Legislature only meets every two years.

State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat and former judge, says the law is unnecessary since Texas officials have been issuing marriage licenses for nearly two years without objection. 

However, supporters of the bill say it's needed to protect the religious freedoms for people of faith. 

Another state pushing back against the legalization of gay marriage is North Carolina. Legislators there are working to pass a bill that would make gay marriage illegal again. House Bill 780 is titled "Uphold Historical Marriage Act," and it declares the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling "null and void in the State of North Carolina." 

The News & Observer reports the sponsors are contending that marriage is a states-rights issue.

Their plan would order state government to return to the constitutional amendment known as Amendment One, which was approved in a 2012 voter referendum. It also says that same-sex marriages performed in other states wouldn't be recognized in North Carolina.

The bill says the high court overstepped its authority, and the authority of Almighty God.

Here's what it states: 

"The ruling of the United States Supreme Court not only exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the State of North Carolina and a vote of the People of the State on an issue pertaining solely to the State of North Carolina and the People of North Carolina but also exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God that "a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history."

CBN News

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

• Pilgrims in Jerusalem Mark Good Friday as Easter and Passover Converge
• Washington, DC, OK's Permit to Publicly Show Film "Unplanned" in Front of Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic
• Cause of Notre Dame Fire Released
• San Antonio Says "No" Second Time to Chick-fil-A in "Blatant, Anti-Christian Discrimination" Ruling
• New Mexico County Demands State of Emergency over Influx of Migrants: Wants Checkpoints Reopened
• Passover Message from Prime Minister Netanyahu: Salutes Israel's "Independence and Freedom"
• Why Easter Matters: 10 Quotes from Billy Graham
• Famous Actor Details His "Bumpy Road in Hollywood" Because He Put "God and Family First and Me Second"
• "Huge" MS Breakthrough: Oregon Researchers Discover Drug That Actually REPAIRS Damage
• Attorney General Barr Releases Mueller Report Verifying "No Collusion"
• Pro-Life Black Women Challenge Hollywood to "Come to Jesus" Moment: "Abortion Is the #1 Cause of Death in the Black Community"
• Jewish Families Will Hold Historic Passover Seder in Warsaw 76 Years after the Holocaust
• "Good Job, Laguna Beach!" Franklin Graham Praises California City for Approving New Patriotic Police Car Design despite Critics
• Iowa High School Girls Stage Walk-Out over Transgender Using Girls' Restroom: "He Is a Male"
• "We Were Part of the Con and We Knew It": Ex-Southern Poverty Law Center Employees Reveal Gross "Hypocrisy"
• North Carolina Governor Vetoes Bill Requiring Care for Babies Born Alive After Failed Abortion
• Incredible Testimonies of Prayer! Meet the Real People behind the "Breakthrough" Miracle Story
• "It Was Obscene": Christ's Sacrifice, Suffering and Death Appreciated Even More When You Understand It in Medical Terms
• Former Employee Reveals Bias, Discrimination and "Crushing Ignorance" of Christianity at BBC
• Christianity Grows in Syrian Town Once Besieged by ISIS