More news on the civil marriage debate, as the West Virginia House of Delegates voted down a Religious Right backed bill that would have put an anti-marriage equality amendment up for a popular vote. More from the Charleston Daily Mail:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s House of Delegates voted along party lines Monday to end this session’s chances for a proposed constitutional amendment on marriage.

Delegates voted 67-30 to reject the attempt. All 29 House Republicans voted to move the measure out of committee, as did Delegate Tom Louisos, D-Fayette.

West Virginia does not recognize same-sex marriages granted elsewhere, under a 2000 law that also requires all marriage license applications to say “marriage is designed to be a loving and lifelong union between a woman and a man.” But amendment advocates argue that doesn’t go far enough and could be challenged in court.

The Family Policy Council of West Virginia has pushed for this session’s resolution, citing a poll it says shows clear support for an amendment. It recently bombarded the revision committee’s chairwoman and the head of the House Judiciary Committee with sometimes abusive phone calls demanding action, and targeted Gov. Joe Manchin with a postcard campaign.

“Once you start down the path of bypassing committees, there will be no ability to draw the line on what group, what issue or what initiatives are given special consideration,” House Majority Leader Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, told fellow delegates. “Short-term gain should never trump abiding by the rules, despite the outcome.”

Just for grins, let’s take a look at the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. First, here’s a video (h/t Box Turtle Bulletin) that they released last month. It’s almost six minutes long, but for the best part, skip ahead to 00:45 to see the best part.

It’s an interesting image, isn’t it? A good wholesome American family, just minding their own business, is under attack, in the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle because The Homosexuals want to kill families. What a wonderful message to send to people!

More recently, The Charleston Gazette (h/t Right Wing Watch) reported that the Family Policy Council of West Virginia had sponsored a telemarketer-esque campaign to harass House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster and Monongalia County, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer about the bill.

Who is the Family Policy Council of West Virginia? For one thing, they’re identified as “fully associated with” Focus on the Family (and by extension, Family Research Council). And as we learned last week, the position of FRC (and by extension, FotF) is that our government should side with the Axis of Evil.

All things considered, I wouldn’t consider this amendment news a win for our side (West Virginia law still explicitly stands against marriage equality, and legislators including the governor appear to stand by the current law), it’s at least a good sign that the state isn’t following the Religious Right’s lead. For that, we can be thankful.