ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Breanna Diaz was in front of the U.S. Supreme Court the day it guaranteed same sex couples the right to marry in 2015.

(crowd cheering) BREANNA DIAZ: And I remember just sobbing, because of that historical moment, knowing that I had new options on the table.

NANCY PELOSI: The motion is adopted.

(crowd cheering) ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: In 2022, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act, codifying the right to same sex marriage for millions of Americans.

But in Virginia, efforts during this general assembly failed to remove language banning same sex marriage in the state's constitution.

TIM ANDERSON: But what we're really just doing is trying to get rid of the dead language out of the Constitution, which is obviously very offensive to people that are same sex marriages that, you know, feel that that's discriminatory language.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Delegate Tim Anderson says his proposal was one of two dozen constitutional amendments the legislature didn't get to.

TIM ANDERSON: Because it was a short session and they just didn't have the time, that was what they said, didn't have the time to vet all of these things.

ADRIENNE MCGIBBON: Diaz, who's with the ACLU of Virginia, points to the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs, related to abortion rights as reason for concern.

BREANNA DIAZ: The one action we can take for same-sex marriage is to repeal that outdated amendment and to replace it with language that affirms a fundamental right to marriage for same sex couples.