50 Family Feuds

Democratic Congress prompts Alliance for Marriage to focus on states.

After years of failing to persuade a Republican-controlled Congress to pass a federal marriage amendment (FMA), Alliance for Marriage (AFM) founder Matt Daniels has decided to take his campaign to the states.

Despite bipartisan support, the FMA never mustered the two-thirds majority needed for ratification in both congressional chambers. Democratic control makes the amendment significantly less likely to pass.

“We want to go where the momentum is strongest,” Daniels told CT.

AFM announced its strategy shift on February 27 by launching the Marriage Protection Caucus (MPC). Initially, lawmakers who make up the MPC will try to advance amendments in states without a constitutional definition of marriage. In states with amendments, the MPC will promote non-binding resolutions. Daniels said lawmakers in 14 states are already drafting model legislation.

Forty-five states—all but Massachusetts, Wyoming, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont—have enacted some type of protection for traditional marriage. Voters in 27 states have approved constitutional amendments.

Daniels said he still believes only federal action can protect marriage, but he hopes state action will force the issue for Congress. Passage in three-fourths of the states (38) is required for a federal amendment to become law.

“The ultimate solution has got to be a federal marriage amendment,” said Tom Minnery, vice president of Focus on the Family. “We have to have one definition of family for the country.”

The doomed effort to pass the FMA confirmed what former Family Research Council president Ken Connor suspected all along, he told CT.

“It is appropriate to go to the states and fight the battle,” Connor said. “It’s a much more prudent and manageable strategy that will be more successful.”

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

The Associated Press reports (abridged) that the Alliance for Marriage has switched tactics.

The Marriage Protection Caucus‘s website shows states where the organization is pursuing legislators.

The Family Research Council is also working to support traditional marriage.

Christianity Today‘s special section on marriage in America is available on our site.

The Pew Forum has a special section on gay marriage, which has resources on the Federal Marriage Amendment and collected news on gay marriage.

A Separate Peace” in The Atlantic Monthly discussed Romney’s stances and said “the way to end culture wars is to slug them out state by state.”

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

News

A New Day in Vietnam

Bereavement Work

The Bible's Authority: Faith on Unchanging Terms

News

Christian Colleges' Green Revolution

Francis Schaeffer, the Pastor-Evangelist

Disorderly Disciplines

Redeeming Bitterness

Post-Christendom Christianity

Excerpt

Lite of the World?

Famine Again?

Holy to the Core

News

Graveyards Came First

Chris Seiple on 'Relational Diplomacy'

Edgy Spirituality

The Angel in the Whirlwind

Return to Sender?

Daily Faith

News

No Malaria Malaise

Christ, My Bodhisattva

No Sick Child Left Behind

The Joy of Policy Manuals

News

Man-Made Disaster

Don't Cede the High Ground

Print Plus

Spring

Editorial

One-Size Politics Doesn't Fit All

News

Go Figure

Jingo Jangle

News

News Briefs: May 01, 2007

News

Quotation Marks

News

Passages

News

Freedom Fighters

Re-engineering Temptation

View issue

Our Latest

Sent to Your Street

Mission isn’t just across the ocean. It’s across the street. God places his people in neighborhoods and cities so the nations might know him.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Brooke Baldwin: Is the News Broken – or Are We?

The just life means living in the light with truth and integrity.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Angela Stanton King: Mothers, Babies and The Measure of Justice

How ordinary people can create extraordinary change and why serving moms and protecting children belongs at the heart of justice.

The National Guard Won’t Fix Our Crime Problem

Lasting solutions come when we draw near to victims and seek God’s help in prayer.

How Then Shall America Pray?

The White House’s new prayer initiative reveals much about our national character.

News

Most Men Are Pro-Life. Activists Want Them to Speak Up.

Programs seek to help fathers voice opinions and take responsibility.

Analysis

For Kirk’s Fans, Provocation Wasn’t the Point

Young Christians in Kentucky remember how he treated question-askers and critics.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube