The State Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment last month, and 81 percent of Virginians support ERA ratification. But the House refused Thursday to even take up a resolution passing the ERA for a vote.
“How long must we wait for women and girls to be included in the Constitution? As elected officials we have a moral obligation to listen to our constituents and let their voices be heard. I am sorry that did not happen today. However, I remain hopeful, and have never been one to shy away from a challenge,” said Prince William Democratic Del. Hala Ayala, who had introduced a rules change that would have allowed a simple majority to vote to bring the ERA to the floor.
House Democrats made clear that a vote against that rules change would effectively amount to a vote against the ERA. The rules change failed on a 50-50 vote, with all Democrats and only one Republican voting to bring the ERA to the floor.
Though they were co-patrons of the Senate resolution to ratify the ERA, Republican Dels. Roxann Robinson and Chris Stolle both voted against bringing it to the floor.
Throughout the 2019 General Assembly session, House Democrats have fought to give the ERA a vote by the full House of Delegates, but the Republican majority fought back to keep the measure on the sidelines.
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