The Polyamory Society is a nonprofit organization that was founded to support, defend and promote Polyamorists, Polyamory Families, Children of the Polyamory Lifestyle and the Polyamory Institution worldwide. The Polyamory Society was established on 6 June 1996 in Washington DC at Shephard Park Branch Library by a group of Polyamorists committed to helping to right social injustices. On September 6, 7 and 8 1996 in the face of a hurricane passing through at the East Coast Gathering at The Church of Four Quarters ATC and Four Quarters Farm in Artemis, Pennsylvania the organizational structure and membership guidelines were created. These events mark the founding of the Polyamory Society. The Society was created to bring about positive social change for the Institution of Polyamory. This is not to say that there were not already a few effective Poly groups working to change the serial monogamous monopoly. The thinking at the time was that the Polyamory movement could not have enough groups representing it. There was also the fear that there were so few groups representing Polyamory that the movement was putting all our eggs or hopes in one basket. The principle objective of the Polyamory Society is to support the political, educational, social and economic equality of Polyamorists and Polyfamilies worldwide. The Society is committed to achievement through nonviolence and relies upon the press, the petition, the ballot and the courts, and is persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion even in the face of violent hostility. There were fears among some in the Polyamory community that our silence could be perceive by the society as approval of our disenfranchisement. Discrimination once permitted can not be bridled. Recent history in all the great movements of 20th century prove that the cultures will permit oppression of subcultures until the subculture that is oppressed stand up for themselves. Taking a lesson from our Gay brothers and sisters we thought it best to develop multiple groups and organizations to represent our position. The Polyamory movement is very young and some Polyactivists, Polyamorists and Polyfamilies felt that the movement needed an extremely visible organizational symbol, vehicle and voice to represent the Polyamory ideal.
