BREAKING: Texas Bill To Defy SCOTUS Dies Without Vote As Deadline Hits

Texas state Rep. Cecil Bell's bill to triple-super-extra ban same-sex marriage died tonight without a vote as the deadline passed without the bill coming up for a vote. The legislative session will continue until June 1st on other business, after which Gov. Greg Abbott could call them back for a special session. Major Texas-based corporations have denounced the bill, including BP, Dow Chemical, American Airlines, and Dell. As we've seen in other states, such pressure from big business can often turn the tide in our favor.

UPDATE: Bell says he's not done trying.

While the bill is now dead, Bell is not out of moves — he could still attempt to attach an amendment to a related Senate bill. "From my perspective, no bill is dead as long as there are are other bills in front. You just have to find something that's germane," Bell said after passage of the House deadline spawned hope among opponents that the measure is done with for this session. “The session still moves on.” Throughout the session, gay rights groups and legal scholars have criticized Bell's bills as unconstitutional and outlandish. “This end-run play to subvert a Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, to which the State of Texas would be constitutionally bound, makes Texas a laughingstock and flies in the face of Texas values,” said Terri Burke, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.