Several Republicans senators had expressed support for the ERA before Tuesday’s vote, and it passed out of a committee on the opening day of this year’s General Assembly session. Its real test will be in the House, where Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, chairman of the Privileges and Elections Committee, has said he’s not sure how he’ll handle the issue.

Six Democrats spoke in favor of the ERA on the Senate floor after Sturtevant explained his reasons for sponsoring the resolution. Two Republicans — Sen. Dick Black of Loudoun County and Amanda Chase of Chesterfield County — spoke against it.

Sen. Rosalyn Dance, D-Petersburg, called Sturtevant the “lawyer in chief” for the way he studied and explained his resolution.

Sturtevant said smart people can disagree over whether there’s still a chance for the amendment to become law. But even if Tuesday’s vote was simply symbolic, he argued, lawmakers should still support the ERA.

He noted that several states have ratified the ERA in recent years and said that to his knowledge, neither Congress nor a court has told them they were wrong.

Black, a conservative not seeking re-election this year, said efforts to pass the ERA came to a halt 40 years ago when people realized the “unintended consequences.”