NORFOLK, Va. - An attempt to begin the process of repealing Virginia's now defunct Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage failed again Friday morning.
Members of a House of Delegates sub-committee voted 4-1 to table the proposed amendment.
This year's proposal was more narrow than last year's amendment, which also failed to advance.
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Republicans who voted in favor of tabling the proposal did not offer any explanation when they cast their votes.
"I am incredibly disappointed that my amendment to repeal the so-called marriage amendment failed in the House," tweeted Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), the patron of the amendment.
The vote means Virginia's voter approved 2006 constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman remains on the books.
A 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage and that supersedes the state constitutional amendment, but members of the LGBT community have expressed worry the Court could revisit the ruling following last year's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Virginia's ban was also previously ruled unconstitutional by the 4th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court in 2014.
During the hearing Friday, two groups spoke in favor of the ban remaining in Virginia's constitution. "The [Supreme] Court is clearly in position to reverse its erroneous 2015 decision and if and when it does, Virginia's constitution should continue to reflect the truth about marriage," said Todd Gathje from the Family Foundation.
That prospect has members of the LGBT community concerned for the future. "I think when you see the kind of efforts that we've seen - still raising heads to keep those kinds of injustices in place - you can't help but worry about what that means," said Rev. Mark Byrd, senior pastor of New Life Metropolitan Community Church in Norfolk, a church where much of the congregation is in the LGBT community.
In order for the amendment to be repealed, the General Assembly would have to pass the amendment two years in a row and then voters would get to weigh-in. "I think the overall reaction that I personally have is that the fight for equality is a long slog and it never ends," said Eric Hause, the publisher of Outwire757. "This is a years long process and I don't foresee it ending any time soon because of the current political climate, so we have to just stay on it."
Del. Tim Anderson (R-Virginia Beach) had also proposed repealing the language, but his amendment was not docketed and did not receive a hearing.
