An evangelical group is pressing lawmakers this session to have marriage defined as between one man and one woman.

But the resolution needed to put the issue before voters has stalled in the House Constitutional Revision Committee. Minority Leader Tim Armstead's attempt to discharge the bill from the committee and take it up for a floor vote by all 100 delegates was defeated along party lines by a 67-30 tally.

"We've had so many people in West Virginia talking to us, telling us that we need to move on this amendment," said Armstead, a Kanawha County republican. "To make sure that we, rather than the court system, gets to define marriage as one man and one woman."

Many democrats say West Virginia has already dealt with the issue by passing a marriage law back in 2000. The chair of the House Constitutional Revision Committee says an amendment is just not necessary.

"The supreme court has had a challenge taken up to it and it refused to hear the case," said Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, a Monongalia County democrat. "So, at this point as far as I can tell we don't have a problem."

But amendment supporters say the law on the books doesn't go far enough and could be challenged in court. They say that's why they want to change the mountain state's constitution.

"30 other states have passed amendments to their constitution to protect their definition of marriage," said Armstead. "We should be in that majority and I can't explain why we're not."

House Republicans launched a similar effort in 2006 that was also voted down.