House Republicans defeat felon voting rights and gay marriage legislation

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republicans in the Virginia House defeated measures Tuesday that would have let voters decide whether to automatically restore the voting rights of felons who have served their terms and strip legally language prohibiting gay marriage from the state Constitution.

Both proposed constitutional amendments passed the General Assembly last year when Democrats controlled the legislature. The measures needed to pass a second time this year in order to go to voter referendums in the fall, but they died in party-line votes in an early morning subcommittee.

Similar measures are still alive in the Senate, but the House, which is now controlled by Republicans, would need to reverse its position for them to succeed.