The Alliance for Marriage (AFM), founded in 1999, was a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The organization described itself as "dedicated to promoting marriage and addressing the epidemic of fatherless families in the United States." The group was founded by Matt Daniels and was headquartered in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. AFM is most known for having drafted the proposed

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...

(FMA) to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

, introduced originally by Rep. Ronnie Shows (D-MS). The amendment would define marriage in the United States as the union of one man and one woman. The amendment was later renamed the

Marriage Protection Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...

, which, as of 2014, last failed a Senate

cloture motion Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...

in June 2006. The organization was defunct as of May 2021, although its website, with a rarely-updated blog, remained active until at least October 2020.

Founder

In a 2004 profile in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', Daniels claimed diverse support for the AFM, crediting it to his upbringing. He was raised by a single mother in

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fi ...

Daniels' views on family, he says, are based in large part on personal experience. He insists he wants to protect what he did not have himself: a dad who stuck around to raise him in a traditional family.

Daniels was profiled in the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''USA Today''.

Federal Marriage Amendment

The FMA as introduced in 2002 consisted of two sentences:

Marriage in the United States of America shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.

and was first debated in the Senate on July 14, 2004. The Federal Marriage Amendment was considered a significant issue in the 2004 presidential election. The Senate last attempted a cloture motion on the Amendment in June 2006, which failed 48-50, short of the necessary 60 votes. Later in 2006, the Alliance for Marriage announced they were shifting their focus toward building a network of state lawmakers who would support the Federal Marriage Amendment.National gay marriage opponents switch tactics , Alliance for Marriage shifts focus to states
(Archived at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

)

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Official website
Non-profit organizations based in Arlington, Virginia 1999 establishments in the United States

Founder

Federal Marriage Amendment

See also

References

External links