Arkansas could soon be the second state in as many months to approve a “religious freedom” bill after the state House approved a bill, which now heads to the governor’s desk.

The state has already started facing corporate backlash as the bill moves forward.

Arkansas approved H.B. 1228, known officially as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Tuesday, passing through the state’s House of Representatives. The bill passed in a 67-21 vote, following the approval of some amendments. The bill heads to Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson’s desk, who has said earlier would sign the bill.

Protesters have stood outside the state capitol as well as the governor's mansion protesting the bill, holding signs that read "Equal Love" and "Discrimination is a Disease."

“Religious freedom” bills have been condemned by LGBT activists as allowing for the discrimination of LGBT people using the guise of religious belief. Corporations as well as various states and municipalities lashed out against Indiana’s law, threatening with boycotts and cancelling events in the state.

Arkansas now faces a similar fate. As many companies express their objection to the bill, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who expressed his dislike for the bill on Twitter.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon also released a statement on Twitter reacting to the passage of the bill in the state House.

The CEO of Acxiom, Scott Howe, released an open letter to Gov. Hutchinson on Monday asking him to veto the law. Acxiom, a marketing technology and services company, is headquartered in Little Rock.

“We are hopeful that you will exhibit the courage and leadership necessary to do the right thing and veto this bill,” the letter reads.

“We are not alone in the belief that the bill is a deliberate vehicle for enabling discrimination against the LGBT community and should not become law, as it effectively re-establishes that shameful period before Civil Rights, when some used religious beliefs as a thinly-veiled justification for discrimination against our fellow citizens,” he and Chief Legal Officer Jerry Jones wrote.

They also said the bill “inflicts pain on some of our citizens and disgrace upon us all,” and called unwise for businesses.

The comparison between the 1950s and 1960s fight for civil rights and now was also not lost on the Little Rock Nine, who attended Little Rock’s Central High School as the first step towards racial integration in schools.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, two of them, Ernie Green and Carlotta Walls Lanier, have come out against H.B. 1228.

“In our home state of Arkansas, legislators are attempting to enshrine their own hatred into law,” they wrote in their statement, saying they oppose the bill, which uses religion to hide discrimination.

“This bill must be amended to protect civil rights or abandoned entirely."

In a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Hutchison informed the public that he will be sending the bill back to the legislature and will not sign it as it currently exists. He explained he envisioned a bill similar to the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed in 1993 and this bill does not.

He added that his own son Seth had signed a petition asking him not sign the bill and highlighted a generational gap that led to its creation.