The Virginia House of Delegates voted Thursday to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage and replace it with one that affirms marriage equality.
Delegates voted 60-33 to repeal the Marshall-Newman amendment that voters approved in 2006. A federal judge in 2014 ruled both the amendment and a previous 1975 statute banning marriage for same-sex couples were unconstitutional, yet both have remained on the books.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) sponsored legislation in 2015 to update the Virginia’s statutes banning marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples.
Initial efforts failed to pass. “After several years of fighting, it’s time for our code to finally reflect the law of the land,” Ebbin tweeted