RICHMOND − Two of the four Republicans representing parts of the Tri-City area in the House of Delegates crossed the aisle Friday to join their Democratic colleagues in voting for a bill that would block marriage licenses from being denied to same-sex couples in the state.

Dels. Carrie Coyner of Chestefield County and Kim Taylor of Dinwiddie County were among five GOP legislators in the 54-40 vote to pass House Bill 174, sponsored by Del. Rozia Henson Jr., D-Woodbridge. Henson, a graduate of Virginia State University in Ettrick, is the first openly gay Black man to be elected to the Virginia House.

Henson’s bill now goes before the state Senate.

The legislation says that anyone authorized to issue marriage licenses in Virginia “shall deny the issuance of such license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of the parties.” It also reinforces Virginia’s recognition of same-sex marriages, which has been in place for almost 10 years despite still being banned in the state constitution.

The bill states that pastors and other clergy members still have the right to refuse to perform same-sex weddings due to their beliefs.

Virginia Democrats at both the state and national levels have been pushing the legislature to lift the ban. Two similarly worded House and Senate resolutions sponsored by LGBTQ legislators Mark Sickles in the House and Adam Ebbin in the Senate are under consideration this legislative session. Ebbin is also sponsoring a companion to Henson’s bill in the Senate.

Other Republicans joining with the Democrats on House Bill 174 were Robert Bloxom of Northampton County, Chad Green of York County, and David Owen of Charlottesville.

Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, voted against the measure, while Del. Otto Wachsmann, R-Sussex County, abstained.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Area GOP delegates join Democrats to block denial of same-sex marriage licenses