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At a press conference inside the U.S. Capitol to promote the Federal Marriage Amendment, 40-year-old Alliance for Marriage (AFM) founder Matt Daniels is easy to spot. At 6 feet 5 inches, he towers over everyone else in the room.

The Washington, D.C. lawyer is the man behind the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would change the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman. On a hot Monday afternoon in May-the first day homosexuals can legally marry in Massachusetts-Daniels and predominantly African American AFM supporters have gathered to decry homosexual "marriage" and hard-sell the amendment.

Since the Alliance for Marriage's inception in 1999, Daniels and his ethnically, religiously, and politically diverse coalition have been prominent voices in the battle to preserve marriage. Their motto-"more children raised at home with a mother and a father"-

drives their support for marriage tax exemptions, eliminating welfare penalties for married couples, promoting adoption-and, now, thwarting gay marriage.

Daniels saw in the mid-1990s that same-sex marriage would be decided in the courts and that nothing short of a constitutional amendment would stop it. "He's been a prophet of warning and preparation that this is a battle that's coming," says the Rev. John Jenkins, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Landover, Md. "And it's come exactly as he said it would."

Daniels takes pride in his coalition of African American, Hispanic, and Korean denominations, as well as Catholics, Muslims, and Jews. He learned the importance of rallying diverse support as a student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he helped organize opposition to bringing casinos into Philadelphia, and later as president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.

"He understood very well and very early on that the traditional, conservative Christian message [on marriage] was not going to work," says the Rev. Ray Hammond, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston, and an afm adviser.

The presence of prominent African American ministers has made the coalition a difficult target for liberal journalists. Daniels eagerly relates how African American supporters, like the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former delegate to Congress from the District of Columbia and civil rights organizer, have been "disappeared" by the media.

Sitting behind his desk in his office, Daniels becomes animated. "Look at this!" he says, bounding out of his chair waving an article. "You know how USA Today surgically removed Fauntroy from its coverage? Now the National Journal's done the same thing!"

It is 6 p.m. on a Thursday night, and Daniels shows no sign of weariness. Rather, he is jovial and chatty, and speaks tenderly about the antics and astuteness of his two young children.

The Daniels family knows diversity. His wife, a family practice physician, is Korean American, and his closest relative, a half brother, is half black. Recounting his experiences with the AFM, Daniels suddenly launches into a comical impersonation of a high-profile religious figure he once met. It is this bounding enthusiasm, friends say, that is so appealing.

"When I met him, my first impression was that he's very energetic and a great communicator," says the Rev. Thann Young, pastor of Agape African Methodist Episcopal Church in Olney, Md., and one of the AFM's advisers.

A protective father and husband, Daniels will not permit reporters to interview any immediate or extended family members. Numerous death threats directed at him and family members have made him cautious of exposing them to publicity, he says.

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September 2004, Vol. 48, No. 9