Proposition 1, the Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), was defeated by a large margin of voters on Tuesday.

The New York Times reports that the civil rights ordinance lost in a landslide, with over 60 percent voting to repeal the measure. Houston's City Council passed the ordinance in May, but protesters pressured the Texas Supreme Court to have the measure placed on the November ballot.

The law aimed to provide civil rights protections for 15 protected classes, prohibiting housing, employment and business services from discriminating based on race, age, religion, national origin and sexual orientation, among many other categories.

However, it was the ban on discrimination, on the basis of gender, identity that caused controversy. Conservative opponents of the law argued that it would allow sexual predators access to women's bathrooms, leading to many dubbing the ordinance "the bathroom bill."

"Houston voters do not want men in their women's bathrooms," said Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors' Council, via The Washington Post. "It's an invasion of privacy, an invasion of a safe space for women and girls."

Supporters of the law, including longtime lesbian activist Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker, said the ordinance's repeal was a major step back for the city, the fourth largest in the country.

"In a city this diverse, with 90 languages spoken and all the varied cultural and racial and religious influences, you have to have a city where people respect each other and find mechanisms to communicate and get along with each other," Parker said in an interview. "Voting down HERO sends exactly the counter-message."

While the federal government doesn't specifically protect the LGBT community from discrimination, several states have laws in place protecting gay and transgender citizens. In her final term, the mayor looked to take a major step toward adding Texas to that list, but failed.

Critics on social media were appalled at Houston's decision.

Others encouraged people to maintain hope.