The American Counseling Association has canceled its 2017 annual conference in Nashville after Tennessee passed a law allowing counselors to deny service to gay, lesbian and transgender people.

ACA has been vocal in its opposition to the law, which the group says violates its code of ethics. The law gives counselors the ability to turn away potential clients if a client's lifestyle conflicts with a counselor's "sincerely held principles." Critics contend the language is code for allowing counselors to use their religion as an excuse to deny service to LGBT people.

In a statement and accompanying video message, ACA CEO Richard Yep said the decision by the association's governing council to cancel the annual conference was not an easy one. He added that of all the laws he has seen passed in his 30 years with ACA, the Tennessee law "is by far the worst."

"This law directly targets the counseling profession, would deny services to those most in need, and constitutes a dilemma for ACA members because it allows for violation of ACA's Code of Ethics," Yep said. "By relocating from Tennessee, ACA is standing up to this discriminatory law and we remain committed in the battle to ensure that this law does not become the national standard."

The CEO added that counselors who deny services to clients in violation of the code of ethics "will be held accountable."

Yep did not say whether the decision would result in a financial loss to the association. ACA is currently accepting proposals from other cities to host its 2017 convention. http://bit.ly/1WpsVNc

Asked to respond to the association's decision, a spokeswoman for Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam told ABC News that the governor believes that "counselors should be like any other professionals, such as doctors or lawyers, and have the ability to decide whether they can appropriately serve a client." http://abcn.ws/1YlEe6u

ACA is not the only association to cancel an event in a state in protest of a law it believes targets the LGBT community. The American College Personnel Association, the American Institute of Architects and the Association for Library Service to Children—a division of the American Library Association—have canceled upcoming conferences in North Carolina after that state passed a law requiring people to use public restrooms that correspond to their gender at the time of birth.

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